


A Heartful of Emptiness

by BaozisDeer



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-08-23 11:13:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 31,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8325586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaozisDeer/pseuds/BaozisDeer
Summary: What if people are not divided by their origin, skin color, religion, gender or looks, but by their hearts? By having one and by missing one?Baekhyun's heart was neither stolen nor shattered, he was born without it. Feelings are forbidden to him and any other person like him. Yet he feels a strong antipathy for the people darkening their hearts, not looking out for the only things that makes people somebody in the world.





	1. The Heartless

"What a pity this is", the boy sighed, clicking with his tongue. "But what did I expect from a rusty lock?" He swirrled the key in his right around. 

The man he cornered was in fear, his body trembling abnormally and eyes shaking in dread. "W-why are you doing this?" he stuttered. 

The other smiled and started tapping on the man's exposed black heart. "Good question, good question." His smiling face turned into a serious expression again. "You know," the boy started off, lifting up his dark blue pullover, exposing a pale torso. His long finger pointed on the black lock located on his chest. "I'm lacking in something." The boy rammed the key in his lock and turned it around. A small rectangle formed around it and flipped open, like a small door. "As you can see, I just don't have what you own", he said, smiling oddly and driving through his black hair. 

"W-why does it have to be me?" the man stuttered wildly, trying to avert his gaze, but his eyes always got caught up in the boy's dark pupils. 

"Next good question!" the black haired exclaimed. "How sad we're not playing for money, eh?" He cupped the man's cheek and patted it, but kept it short. 

The boy closed his exposed torso and let go of the lifted up pullover. His dark circled eyes sunk deeper into the other's gaze, who in response began to breathe heavily. His chest rose up as if a jolting shock ran through it and sank like the sea at night. 

"But do you know what angers me the most?" the boy directed to the man. He shook his head slowly. "Oh, well, let me give you the answer then!" The black haired's face neared the other's, their eyes locked. "It disgusts me what you made out of your heart", he spit in anger. "People like me would give anything for a pure heart and you decide to let yours blacken like this." His tone was accusing, awful and mostly: intimidating. 

The boy grabbed around the man's black heart and wrapped his fingers around it tightly, taking it out with a single pull. "You might as well not even deserve it, if you let it rot like this", the black haired voiced and tightened his grip around the heart in his hand. 

"Please, be careful!" the man yelled. "You'll break it!" 

The black haired threw a distasteful gaze to the other, who withdrew in fear again and shut up. "Why do you even care about it now?" he questioned. 

The man's only answer was a stutter of unfinished words. "See? It doesn't matter if you have one or not – you are emotionless anyways." With a mad grin the boy shattered the heart by piercing his fingers in. It fell to tiny pieces and ringed on the floor like breaking glass. 

The man sank sown to his knees and looked at the remnants of what was once his. His skin went pale and he felt empty. Now he only could reenact how sadness, even distress, felt like, because now he was unable to feel it. 

"A nice night to you, sir" the boy spit, driving his hands along with the golden key into his pockets. He turned around to leave the alley. 

"You monster!" the man yelled with watery eyes. 

The black haired turned his head around again. "What are you crying about? You lost something not even essential to you", he snickered. 

The other demanded to know the boy's name. "You can call me B. The best is you tell your friends and family I might come for them, if they keep on living like you did." The boy turned around again and left with the dreaded screams of the man emerging behind him.

 

\-----------

 

B pressed down on the keys softly, a tone echoing through the room. He started to play on the piano with closed eyes, enjoying the melody that always brought him to a cold sea while the sun was setting behind. Colors merging and playing, orange and violet hand in hand. The sand was cool and the corns prickling on his feet. Even though he wasn't able to feel, he found enjoyment in this thought, only occurring when the soft melody reached his ears.

B looked up, snapping out of his thoughts. He was back to emptiness, the only thing he "felt". Right from the start he was missing a heart. A heart the majority of people had – pure and free of darkness. It was inevitable to not darken your heart a little, but it wasn't your own fault then. It were the people making you fall in grief, dread, sadness and anger.

People with a really black hard were the ones carrying their own blame. They were acting reckless, anger and cruelty being their shield and sword. Corruption was their saint.

B though would give anything to possess a heart. There was a way to him, but it didn't appeal to him. He had the key to make it possible, but theft never was to his excitement.

The clock striking twelve signalized he should go to bed and sleep. He couldn't feel fatigue, but he learned from normal people how to act appropriately. Every feeling he "has" is always an imagination.

Since he was young he learnt to adapt to the world and prevent from being oppressed. Up until this day, people on his school believe he is a "Heartkeeper". But exactly the opposite is the case. If B could feel, a feeling of dread would overcome him every time he thinks about the possibility of someone finding out about him.

Actually, it's easy to make someone out not having a heart, be it stolen or non-existing. Their skin is pale and their eyes dark. They do have colors, but the saturation is set to the lowest point. "Heartless", that's what they are called, also are not able to feel human emotions. They can tell whether they are hungry or hurt, but pain and a rumbling stomach is forbidden for them. As well as any other emotion essential for a normal life.

B's night was spent like any other. Curled up under a blanket and getting less sleep than the average person. He just wasn't able to sleep relaxed. As well as his nights, morning were spent the same. Showering, washing up, picking clothes and going to school.

Once he got out of his bed, he drove through his disheveled hair and yawned loudly. The less sleep he got, the more dark circles were "adorning" his eyes. Usually B wasn't that quick in doing his actions, hence he was always in a hurry to get to school on time, but he always did it. He doesn't really have much to look forward to, except for talking to his "friends". They are actually just people to help him study Heartkeepers. Or are they?

"Self-reminder: try talking more lively than usual in school", he mumbled while walking to the bathroom. B eyed his reflection in the mirror and stared at it blankly. "Looking dead as ever", he commented on himself. He learned to be sarcastic, cynical even, by observing only. Even though he cannot be cheeky, sassy or witty, he does it out of boredom; playing with people's minds or checking how their brain capacity is like. Sometimes even tests how much the humans around him actually know.

In school, well, let's say, B was rather unproductive, yet came through each year. He spent his time staring around and answering questions with his collected knowledge when he got picked randomly. B wasn't dumb; he was very smart and able to logically solve problems – just not emotionally.

"Hey", the boy greeted some of his schoolmates.

"Yo", the taller one replied, curling up a cat smile and playing with his brown locks.

The smaller one only eyed B with a strong gaze, yet lovely eyes. "How was your weekend, Baekhyun?" he asked.

Yes, Baekhyun. His birth name, given by his parents. B was only a pseudonym to cover his identity when a rather unfortunate event like yesterday happens. Unfortunate lets it sound like it was a coincidence it happened or just out of impulse. But it was not. It happened willingly, planned.

"Nothing much", Baekhyun answered with a light smile. "Just had some problems, but got rid of them!"

"Are you alright?" the small boy directed to the other with a worried face.

"Kyungsoo" the boy with brown locks whined. "He said he got rid of them!"

"Yet it is my right to assure myself of his wellbeing, Jongdae", the other snapped.

Baekhyun felt the sparks electrifying the atmosphere and tried to cool their heated gazes. "How about we go in, guys?" he suggested. The other two agreed and followed his step, still grunting their teeth and throwing judging glares to one another from time to time.

First period was Biology, which B disliked the most. They were taught about the anatomy of Heartkeepers and how Heartless are worth nothing, not even a corn. It was true that the anatomy of both kinds were nearly the same, except for the part that one has hearts and the other doesn't, which makes them sick faster. Why is still a mystery, but scientists believe it's something to do with their lowered body functions. Heartless have a slower pulse, hence less blood is pumped through their veins. Their physical abilities are limited as well. Heartless are able to intensely work out, but for a shorter period of time than Heartkeepers.

Clear to Baekhyun was only though that the treatment they received was unfairly inhuman. He couldn't even count it on his fingers.

As he sat down, Kyungsoo and Jongdae right behind him, he noticed a new guy in his course. Pointy, drooping nose, thin lips, brown and short curly hair, slightly thrown back, a small dimple on his left cheek and tired eyes.

The boy caught Baekhyun's attention and he eyed him carefully. He wondered who and how he might be. One thing was for sure: he's a Heartkeeper. B was able to tell the difference between a Keeper and a Heartless, since he himself was the last kind of human. People like him always knew how to act "normally". They could adapt and put on a show, but only a few weren't discovered.

When the teacher entered the room and put down his books, he ordered the new boy to stand up and introduce himself.

He did as he was told and got up, speaking up in a moderate tone: "I'm pleased to meet you." He bowed to each side diligently. "My name is Zhang Yixing."

"Zhang Yixing, huh?" Baekhyun thought, keeping his gaze locked on the other boy.

"Getting the butterflies?" Jongdae joked from behind, hastily patting the other's back.

The black haired turned around. "Who planted this idea into your head?" he snapped in an annoyed voice.

"Well, you have been staring at him since you noticed him", Kyungsoo mentioned from one seat farther behind Jongdae.

"Is that so?" Baekhyun questioned quietly to himself.

 

\-----------

 

"Man, Baekhyun", Jongdae spoke up, slinging his arm around the other's neck while walking through the center. "You totally have eyes for this new guy."

"You like to use your imagination on everything, don't you?" B replied, rolling his eyes and subconsciously shrugging off the arm resting on his shoulders.

Kyungsoo had to smile upon seeing this. "Let the child live", he added.

"I won't as long as he comes up with shit like this", the black haired wheezed with a joking expression. It brought laughter to the other two.

The trio planned to go watch a movie together right after school. They had a short day today and would be able to watch one right on time. When they got to choose though, opinions were heavily divided.

"Why can't we watch this one?" Jongdae whined.

Kyungsoo remarkably rolled with his eyes and threw an annoyed gaze to his friend. "I have been watching this children movie with you for 5 times already, enough is enough." He raised his voice and huffed.

"So, what do you wanna watch, Kyungsoo?" Baekhyun asked the smaller one with an expecting expression.

Hearing that question, Kyungsoo started to bloom in all his colors and immediately turned to the poster showing a cliché drama. Boy falls in love with girl, they don't admit, crucial plot twist, boy and girl come together. Both B's and Jongdae's faces dropped.

"Are you serious right now?" the cat lips whined.

The black haired just sighed and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a coin and showed it to his friends, literally holding it in their faces. "We'll flip a coin", he said.

"Heads", Jongdae exclaimed with a serious expression. He wanted the coin flip to decide for his movie.

"Tails", Kyungsoo said at the same time, glaring at the golden piece in Baekhyun's fingers.

B placed the coin on his thumb and started to flip it up high, resulting in –

"Yehaw!" the brown haired exclaimed, already slurping on the coke he got.

"I can't believe this. Haven't I suffered enough?" the small one desperately cried. He sat down on the cozy red chair with his arms crossed.

"Well, you both agreed on the coin flip, ain't my problem here" Baekhyun remarked while sitting down next to the smaller one.

Jongdae lifted up his hand, getting a high-five from B. "Dat's right."

Kyungsoo turned his head to the left side, throwing a fierce gaze to the brown haired. "Don't act like your victory was sure. The same could have happened to you", he snapped. Jongdae in response fell silent, pouted and snuggled into the cushions of the chair.

"Stop being so salty now and enjoy the sixth time of watching this gorgeous masterpiece", the black haired jokingly scolded and hit his friend's arm.

"Fucking great", the other damned.

"Pst, be quiet" Jongdae ordered. "It's starting."

The cinema lights went out and the big screen gave off a bright light. The next moment the whole audience could hear the brown haired sing the opening song along with some children, happily drinking his coke and a Kyungsoo two seats away from him having his index and middle finger on his temple; his nerves were blank.

"You owe me something", the smaller one grunted, eyeing Baekhyun.

"Self-made or at a restaurant?" the black haired asked, knowing what the other meant.

"Restaurant. Plus ice cream."

"Why do I actually have to suffer like this?"

"You flipped the coin" Kyungsoo snapped annoyed.

"Aight, mate" the other smiled.

Halfway through the movie a familiar face seated themselves next to Kyungsoo and greeted him with a smile. "Mind me sitting here?"

"No, not...at all", he answered, raising an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

"Our parents are working in the same department and yet you still cannot recognize my voice?" the person pouted. "What a disappointment."

"Oh, wait..." the small one squinted to make out the face in front of him. "Yixing?"

"He does remember me!" the other happily said. "Why did you run away earlier though?" He sulked a little bit.

"Ah, as you can see we were going straight to the c – " Kyungsoo got cut off by Jongdae excessively signalizing the smaller to be quiet.

"Who are you even talking to?" The brown haired leaned forward, nearly over Baekhyun, who now also looked to his right.

"Oh, hey Yixing!" the cat lips cheerfully, but loudly greeted. A wave of Psts overran Jongdae and his friends.

"Hey", Yixing whispered back, lowly waving with his hand. Baekhyun only smiled and nodded with his head. Their eyes unknowingly locked and the other kept on staring without even noticing.

"Seems like there is someone else with butterflies", Jongdae immediately joked as he noticed Yixing, poking B's sides with his elbow several times.

"Snap outta it, fantasy boy" the black haired buzzed, both gaining a confused look by the other. Kyungsoo only shook his head, telling him to just let it slide and not ask any further. Yixing nodded with a frown.

The boys proceeded to watch the movie together until the end. Kyungsoo's mood went up, because he now could talk to someone that wasn't entirely fixed on that..."cultural shocking incident", as he liked to call it. The smaller though questioned why Yixing even got in here.

 

\-----------

 

"Is the mask ready?" Baekhyun expectantly spoke into his phone.

A short rambling was heard on the other line, a deep voice answering afterwards: "Yes, like you wanted it." The person shortly paused, but continued. "Why exactly does a Heartless need my service?"

"I'll explain things later to you", the black haired dismissed. He flipped his phone shut and stuffed it back into his pocket.

Baekhyun eyed the clock above his piano. It was late at night, but he decided to pick up the mask still today. Yet he found time to play a verse on the keys, guiding him to the world he could only dream of.

Even though feelings weren't given to him on his birth, he still had dreams; dreams he wanted to fulfill. One of them was to finally be able to leave this rotten place Seoul – Hell's kitchen how it was called. Everything existing in the world was controlled by the Heartkeepers, modified to their use. Jobs, trains, trams, buses, planes, restaurants, banks – it was too much to count on just one hand, or two.

B was stuck in here with a small apartment, some money, some food and at least proper education. Well, how Heartkeepers believed it was correct.

Listening to the melody Baekhyun's fingertips gave off by pressing the white and black keys on the piano, he felt much calmer. Heartless were able to be pressured, hence relaxed as well. The music was soothing his nerves.

When he played the last part, the boy got up and reached for his keys, stuffing them inside his pocket. He pulled up his hood and went outside quietly.

Even though Baekhyun hated this place, at night it bloomed in beauty fully. The dark blue sky playing with the bright moonlight and the weak, yet powerful stars. It was a spectacle to behold. And only at night the black haired boy was able to go out without "worrying" what might happen to him. It was the only time of the day he would be left alone and undiscovered. Not that his identity might be revealed that easily, but chances aren't exactly 0%.

B walked down a long, dark road. Streetlights had big spaces between them and the most of them were broken. Yet it was a sign he was right. Only the mask maker he asked for help could live in such a nasty place. Well, Baekhyun didn't live in a nicer neighborhood either, but it was definitely not giving off this dark vibe this road did.

Halfway he turned into an alley; a strongly glowing neon sign was hanging right next to him. Only side-eyeing it B could make out it was inviting you to a whorehouse. One of the best in Seoul, they say.

The boy dismissed his thoughts and walked down deeper, reaching an old red bracket house with dusty windows. He opened the door with a howling noise and shut it close tightly behind. Now he was standing in a bright room, covered in masks – handmade ones.

Many of the masks caught his eye; a red devil, a geisha, demons and gods. It was an arsenal of religious-looking accessory.

Baekhyun though looked around for something else, someone to be exact. A person dropped down from above, tangling from the ceiling. Red locks were gliding over B's puffy cheeks and drooping mouth.

"I'd be dead scared right now if I had a heart", the boy said with a blank expression, locking eye contact with the guy in front.

The red haired eyed the dark circles around B's eyes. "Not sleeping well, huh?" he said, dropping down from the ceiling and landing on his feet.

"Born with them", the other dismissed. "You should know it the best."

"Sorry for the inconvenience I caused – ah, wait, 'inconvenience'", the man said, making exclamation marks as he corrected himself.

Baekhyun only rolled with his eyes and acted annoyed, trying to show he was impatient. "Rather show me what I'm here for", he demanded.

"Sorry, Miss Actress", the other deadpanned.

"Chanyeol."

"Yeah, yeah, understood."

Chanyeol's lanky legs made a way behind the counter, his oversized black sweater flying in the wind while walking. His heavy leather boots were giving off strong stepping sounds.

While the boy waited, he seated himself on the counter, eyeing the room once again. Rather than a cozy feeling, it was full and intimidating. "New masks over there?" Baekhyun tried to start small talk.

"Yeah", the red haired yelled back from the storage room. "All made on one day." His voice sounded pretty proud.

"Impressive."

"Stop acting", the taller one demanded, still in the storage room.

"Well, it's the thing you told me to do" B teased with a smile.

"Yeah, I know", Chanyeol started off, coming back and placing a box on the counter. "But it was only for your own sake. I know what you are, so stop the show."

"Alright", the boy agreed with a blank face again. "Is this the mask I asked you for?"

The other nodded and slowly slid over the box. "Exactly what you wanted."

Baekhyun put his hands on the box and got off the lid. He reached in, thin paper being ripped to the side and a black mask carefully taken out.

"Try it on", Chanyeol suggested.

The other nodded and set on the mask. The pitch black color nearly absorbed the light provided by the lamps above. The area around mouth and nostrils was the only that was free, the nose sharpened like a raven's beak, but not as long. The top was formed like two huge waves parting, but not outstandingly reaching up high. It wasn't even above B's forehead. The sides were sharpened.

"It's perfect", the boy remarked. "Thank you." He took off the mask again and hid it in his sweater's pocket.

"So, tell me," The other propped up on his arms and rested his face on his hands. "What are you going to do with this mask? Why exactly does a Heartless like you need a mask from me?"

"Why does a person like you, responsible for repairing hearts, make masks for people from above?" Baekhyun countered, gesturing with his pointer up in the air.

Chanyeol gulped. "Well, you see..."

"See, there doesn't necessarily have to be a reason."

"Alright", the taller one pouted. "Let's change the subject."

B tilted his head to the side, making a questioning expression. "To?"

"Did you hear of the guy that got his heart shattered?"

"Yeah", the boy huffed.

"I love it when you act interested, so I don't look like an idiot talking to you", Chanyeol threw in while breathing out. "Anyways, it was tactically smart if it was an 'assassination'." He made exclamation marks again with his fingers.

"The guy was an important man, right?" Baekhyun asked for clarification.

"Exactly. He was part of our world parliament", the taller one explained. "He was Korea's representative. Since he was the best man we had, we are having difficulties to fill in the gap."

"Terrible, tell me more", B acted.

"My pleasure." Chanyeol jokingly bowed and took a seat on the stool after. "Not only was he our representative, he also was our country's leader. Without him the Law of Decimating cannot be fully brought into action", he proceeded to tell. "Which means your species is safe."

Species. Baekhyun "hated" hearing that. "Which means I can move more freely?"

"Not only you, but everyone else. The country's forces, including police and courts, are not lead and hence in total chaos."

"Good to know", B smiled.

"But, well, at the end of the day," Chanyeol leaned back and threw his feet on the counter, taking out a lollipop from the glass next to him and put it in his mouth. "I still believe – oh, man, strawberry, I love it – all people should be treated equally. No matter if they have feelings or not."

"You and Junmyeon are the only ones I met so far with this opinion", the boy mentioned. "Whether there are other people?"

"Probably."

"Not giving me hopes in the slightest."

"You'd have to have a heart for that", Chanyeol winked.

 

\-----------

 

"Target locked", Baekhyun monotonously whispered, pointer on the trigger. He watched every step of the person he had his eye on through the visor. Once his prey sat down, he stiffened his finger around the trigger. "Target's position excellent."

The boy pulled the trigger and a powerful, yet silent bullet was sent into the person's neck. "Target neutralized."

Baekhyun put on his mask and threw his black robe on. He threw out a rope he swung on and glided down from the rooftop he was on, shattering the window by smashing through it and leaving his sniper rifle behind.

"Hello, Mr. Han" the boy smiled while leaning over the man. "Special you are, aren't you?"

A painful expression adorned the man’s face.  With a breaking voice he spoke up: "W-who...are y-you?"

"You can call me B", the black haired smiled. "I'm here to take something from you." He ripped open the man's shirt and tapped on the rusty lock. "You see, the heart you have – you don't have the right to possess it."

"Are you a Heartstealer?" the other asked in a dying voice.

B merely chuckled and shook his head. "Me? Oh, please. I wouldn't even dare stealing that thing." He took out a golden key out of his robe and rammed it into the man's lock, who in response quietly howled. "Here we go."

The black haired grabbed around the black heart tightly and ripped it out. "To make sure it really breaks," he started off, winking to the man and going over to the shattered window of the high building, "I'll just throw it down."

The man couldn't see what was going on exactly, since his limbs were numb and he couldn't move a meter. The words he heard though were enough to understand. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "Please, reconsider what you are doing!" 

"Hm? What was that?" Baekhyun asked, putting up a wondering voice. "I shall what?"

The man sank in panic further, starting to make offers. "Is it money that you want?" He tried to move, but was unable to. The man was handicapped. The bullet that shot through his neck was stuck and crucially hurting. "Power?"

"Neither of these appeal to me, Mr. Han."

The next thing the man heard was the loud shattering of something breaking in half and his insides turning upside down. All he has felt now was a mere memory.

"Adios", B bit farewell, jumping on the rope he threw out and swinging over to the building he came from. He climbed back, collected his weapon and took the rope with him.

Panting he shortly broke down, nearly falling off the rooftop. "Self-reminder: Do not cross your limits" he scolded himself. After shortly pausing, heavily breathing and collecting his mind he went down again.

"Case closed."

 

\-----------

 

"Breaking News: The head of Han Corporation was assassinated today" the news reporter Park Yoora announced. "According to the police he first was shot in the neck to disable his physical abilities and afterwards his heart was taken out and thrown out of the shattered window the culprit came through. No traits of him are left."

Hearing Park Yoora announce the assassination of Han Jimin would put Baekhyun in a good mood, if he was able to feel.

"The shot the assassin landed was very precise, so people say it was a professional; he knew what he did", Park explained. "Whoever has any clues about the culprit shall immediately visit the next police station. Any help is needed. This has been Park Yoora, now to sports."

The black haired picked up his bag and pulled it behind him out of the apartment, throwing it over his shoulders halfway. He wanted to sigh and complain like a normal teenager going to school, but he couldn't. But even without feeling he was back in routine.

Like every morning he came to school at 7.40, his friends Kyungsoo and Jongdae waiting in front of the gate for him.

While Jongdae was rather outgoing and naive, Kyungsoo was introverted and a thoughtful person. Even thought they don't admit it, the stark contrast both give off adds up to each other perfectly. They are fire and ice, coexisting, but together forming something lifesaving. Baekhyun would like to witness the vibes they really give off than just judging by his objective analysis.

The black haired's thoughts always resolve around how things would be if he could really feel. He knows how people react to certain things and feel about it, but only to witness it himself – it would be a kind of salvation. Baekhyun does what Heartkeepers call "self-pity" to himself.

"Kyungsoo-ya", Jongdae spoke up with his loud voice.

"Hm?" the small one hummed in response.

"Do you have an explanation what happened the night? You're the smartest here, so lemme here."

"You mean the assasination?" Kyungsoo asked for confirmation. The brown haired nodded. "As Park Yoora said, it was somehow who knew what he was doing."

"Well, that's what we all know already", Baekhyun deadpanned.

"Oh" the cat lips voiced, curling up. "The quietest is talking." Kyungsoo and Jongdae giggled.

"I thought I'd add my thoughts since it's a hot topic."

"So, tell us" the small one asked.

"We know the assassin sniped into his neck." The other two nodded. "Here's the first thing: Why didn't he aim for his head?"

Kyungsoo bit down on his bottom lip, but immediately answered: "Simple. The target wasn't to eliminate, he just shouldn't be able to move."

"Exactly", the black haired confirmed. "Then, reenact what he did."

"After he sniped, he smashed through the window, meaning he was on a building close or if not, opposite of the company building", Jongdae explained. "And then, he opened the lock."

"How was he able to anyways?" Kyungsoo threw in. "Only soulmates have the key to each other's heart."

"Exactly, how did he do it?" the brown haired questioned.

"There are keys called Theft Keys – a simple name for a simple object", B explained while gesturing a key in his hands. "Heartless use it to steal people's hearts so they possess one themselves."

"You know about that really well", Kyungsoo remarked.

"I have done my research."

"But, looking at what he did, he wasn't out for stealing the heart", Jongdae went on.

Both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun nodded and voiced an "Exactly" at the same time, causing each one of them to smile.

"Obviously", the small one picked up the topic again. "He threw it out the window he crashed and shattered it. Even the Heart Repair System wasn't helping there."

"It was too broken to even fix a bit again", the brown haired added.

"So, this one leaves one question", B started. 

"Why only shatter the heart and not take his life?" Kyungsoo finished. The boy nodded in response.

"You have to know, his heart wasn't pure. It was black", the black haired explained, but it turned out to be a mistake. Two eye pairs threw their gazes on him, a little surprised by what he just said.

"How...do you know about the heart?" the small one asked with a suspicious squint.

Baekhyun was left unaffected by this revealing of his "insider information". "Deep web", he dismissed.

"So it isn't 100% sure his heart is – well, was black?"Jongdae asked.

"That's right" the black haired confirmed.

Kyungsoo was the only one of the two left staring suspicously at Baekhyun. "I'll look further into this."

Before they could discuss any more, the school bell rang and it was time for the three to go in. As they went down the hallway Baekhyun once again noticed Yixing, who smiled graciously at them. The boy though dismissed him with his blank expression. They went in opposite directions, meaning Yixing won't be joining them today. Actually, the dimple-boy was on his way outside. 

"Do you know what he is up to?" Jongdae whispered hearable for the other two. "I mean, he aways smiles at our hero here." He pointed to B, who was right beside him. "You know him Kyungsoo, right? Tell us."

"Not a clue" Kyungsoo responded unknowingly. 

"He's getting the image of a strange boy, isn't he?" Baekhyun asked. 

 

\-----------

 

"Zhang Yixing, your report" a male higher voice ordered, face hidden behind a white mask, thick black tears flowing down it. "Were you able to make out Heartless at this school?"

The thin boy nodded. "I did. I mean, how couldn't I?"

A woman behind a pink cat mask chuckled. "He isn't wrong there."

"I beg for your silence, Chat", the man with the white mask from before ordered.

The room Yixing was in was merely lighted. He could see the 3 people in front of him just like that, sitting on higher positions than him. Though he could make out that the room was completely white; including everything in it. One could call it Heaven without any light.

"I have to say, your son has a great gift", the man spoke up again, complementing Yixing.

Another man in a demon mask bowed. "Thank you", he responded. "I'm glad he was willing to help the world government."

"Yet gentlemen – and lady," Yixing spoke up, "I cannot tell you who the Heartless is." An odd expression painted his face.

Fierce gazes fell onto him, the woman wearing the cat mask dramatically wagging her fan. "Outrageous", she spoke up. "Don't you think? He's not supposed to bring his own will in here."

"Oh, I am Madame Chat", the brown haired denied. "Without me serving you with my gift, the government wouldn't be as far as it is now."

"Son!" the man in demon mask yelled. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up in rage. The man thought it was an insult to be this direct towards people of highest rank.

"It's alright Damon, he's right." The other man stopped him, grabbing around one of the other's arms and pulling him down again.

"But, Agma – "

"No more words", Agma dismissed. "Tell us, what is the reason for your secrecy?"

Yixing's lips curled up. "Well..." he started off. “As you know, I'm studying certain things and I think I found something I want to look into."

"Talking in mysteries, as always" Chat remarked, wagging her fan. "I'd give him permission. I want to see what results he gets. How do you see things, Damon?"

"You are changing your mind really fast, Madame. But I can only agree", he said.

"You, Agma?" Chat once again spoke up.

"As you said, it would be interesting to see what the results turn into", he chuckled. "You have permission to observe the Heartless you spotted, Zhang Yixing."

The boy bowed twice sincerely. "I thank you."

"You may leave, honey", Chat smiled.

Yixing immediately left the great hall without any other words, closing the giant door behind him hugely exhaling. "That was very risky." 

He stood up firmly on his feet again and went down the long corridor and exited through the door again. "Let's see."

 

\-----------

 

Kyungsoo rolled to the end of Jongdae's bed, all the way while looking into a romance novel he just got as they were shopping together. The brown haired was playing a video game, something the smaller somehow disliked. Except for a fighting series called _Tekken_. As much as he hated violence, he was dominating in this game and came to like it.

"Jongdae", Kyungsoo voiced as his head lightly hit his friend's. Jongdae hummed in response, still concentrating on shooting. "Don't you think Baekhyun is acting weirdly lately?"

"Explain", the other said with eyes fixed on the screen.

"You know", the other started off, rolling on his stomach. "He talks more."

"And that is bad in which dimension?"

"No, I mean, he's never done that. Not that often."

Jongdae put down the gamepad and turned his head to the left. "You are not completely wrong." He got up from the ground and laid down next to his friend.

"See? And the most questionable is what happened earlier." Kyungsoo closed his book and let it fall to the ground, his head and arms tangling down once he let go of it.

"You mean the conversation about the incident?" Jongdae assured. The smaller one nodded in response. "What was wrong with that?"

"You know my father works for the government, right?"

"With that big ass house, you'd have to rob a bank. Of course I know."

"I asked him about the heart", the smaller proceeded. "The news were given out just this morning and not even everything."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning only people involved could have known this."

"So his heart really was black?" the brown haired concluded.

Kyungsoo nodded, his black hair bobbing up and down. "I even searched the internet, there was nothing."

"So, you are saying Baekhyun was involved?" Jongdae propped up on his elbow and eyed the tangling Kyungsoo with a frown.

"I'd even say he's the culprit, but he doesn't fit into this puzzle", the smaller one explained, putting on a worried pout.

"Tell me about your second thought" the other ordered, booping his friend's strong thigh.

"What other thought?"

"I know you long enough to know that you always have two ways of thinking about things", he smiled.

Kyungsoo only sighed and rolled on his back, staring at the stars plastered all over Jongdae's ceiling. It reminded him of their childhood days when they had sleepovers at his friend's house, lying awake at night and trying to stay awake the longest. They both ended up sleeping.

"What if he witnessed the incident, but is too afraid to tell?" he questioned. "What if the conversation was just a way to talk to us?"

Jongdae lightly patted the other's thigh. "Don't worry too much, Kyungsoo", he tried to sooth. "I'm sure he's alright."

"You think so?" the other asked in a worried tone after he sat up and locked eyes with his friend.

The cat lips curled up to a smile, the other's head nodding in reassurance. "But don't give up looking into this. I believe in you."

"Even when it means Baekhyun could be the culprit?"

"Even then. But trust him until he is proven guilty."

Kyungsoo nodded. "It's so hard to help out in the government."

"I think so, too, but you knew what was coming when you accepted the offer, you super brain", Jongdae remarked. "College student at day, detective at night!" He started laughing loudly.

"It's not like I'm a 'detective' as you claim", the smaller argued. "I only help out when the police is at a dead end."

"Yeah, sure, then our police must be the damn worst, because you are away really often lately."

"Is someone having a Kyungsoo-drought?" Kyungsoo joked with a heart-shaped smile.

"As if" Jongdae dismissed.

 

\-----------

 

Baekhyun stood in front of the dark wooden door, but something in him didn't want to knock. It couldn't be fear or something similar. Perhaps it was respect? He reenacted what feelings normal people have in this situation, trying to make up a picture, but there was none. His knuckles reached the wooden surface and gave off three light knocks.

"Who is it?" a voice in the room behind asked, distant and barely heard.

"B", the black haired plainly answered, hand around the door knob already.

"Enter."

Baekhyun turned the knob around and set foot into the room. It was very dark and the only light in there came from the bright monitors, each showing something different.

"Are you working?" he asked, closing the door shut.

The person on the desk only hummed, focusing on the monitors in front.

B came closer and stood next to the other. He was eyeing the screens and observing what was on them. Hacked security cams, biographies, analysis. His gaze trailed down to the guy next to him. His eyes were quickly changing their point of focus, jumping from one monitor to another.

"What is it that you need?" the person spoke up, nibbling on the straw sticking out of his drink in front.

"The usual", Baekhyun answered, correcting his friend's bitter chocolate hair with careful fingers.

"Your hands are ice cold, it's distracting me", the other remarked in a scolding tone, looking up with a fierce glare. Even though he had puffy cheeks, his serious expression was no joke.

Like a reflex B withdrew and put his hands into his sweater's pockets. "Do you need help?" he offered.

The person shook his head. "Not at the moment."

The black haired leaned forward, now on the same level as the other and eyed the monitors with him. "What are you looking for?"

The atmosphere was rather awkward, to put it in a Heartkeeper's words. Somehow Baekhyun was afraid of asking things, even though it was a friend of his sitting there. Well, whatever a friend truly is.

"The info you need", the other simply said.

"How do you – "

"I know you. As well as Chanyeol does", he cut the black haired off. "You may be a Heartless, yet you have a pattern of behaving and thinking."

"As observant as ever", B remarked with a smile.

"Your acting got better", the other remarked. "Have you been practicing?"

"More or less."

His friend took a last sip of the straw as all monitors went blue and said "Logging in". "Got it."

"What exactly did you get?" Baekhyun asked in a wondering tone.

"The government's databases."

"Did you just say databases?" the black haired explained surprisingly. "How many?"

"As many monitors I have. So, 9", the other normally explained, turning around on his chair. "I love how you put more effort into acting for me. Poor Chanyeol though." The young man now smiled brightly.

"It's really nerve-wracking to see you working", B sighed.

"Why is that?"

"You become so serious and I'm not used to that."

"Only Chanyeol and you know the smiling side of me. Clients would never get to see that of me", the other explained.

Baekhyun only huffed. "Anyways. What did you find out?"

"Let's see..." the other turned around again and looked at all the monitors carefully. "Only a bit of information."

"Is it enough to track them down?" B threw in.

"Yes", his friend said. "Say..."

"Hm?"

"Does Chanyeol already know of this?

The black haired shook his head. "No", he denied. "And I think we should keep it from him a little longer."

"I think so, too", the other replied, clicking on the mouse various times and looking into different files at the same time. "How do you think he will take it?"

"As a Heartkeeper, not good."

"Indeed. He's a soft heart."

Baekhyun chuckled. "Well, beats me. I wouldn't know."

"But you know how to handle humans", the young man talked back. "If I wouldn't know you are a Heartless I'd take you for a person with feelings."

"Why, thank you", he threw back. "I'd take it as a compliment, if I could."

"I just want Chanyeol to not get harmed in any way. You know _he_ is a treasure for him", the other explained.

"I know. I'll be careful."

"Promise?"

"Promise", the black haired assured. He interrupted his friend's scrolling and file-looking by driving to a document himself. He opened it and read through it carefully, but quickly.

"This is what you need", the young man exclaimed, his cheeks becoming puffier than before.

"I'm surprised you didn't find it", Baekhyun remarked. The other only pouted in response, dismissing the point.

"You are telling me The Chain's identity is this man?" the young man questioned with a frown.

"As bulky as I have him in mind", Baekhyun commented.

"Are you sure? It looks like he lost weight", his friend pointed out, squinting at the monitor.

"It's him, just without the mask", B argued. "And even if not, if he has a rusty look, we are good."

"I hope so."

The young man pressed on the print button and handed the documents to the black haired, who read through them again thoroughly. His friend though was right; the man really had changed since their last encounter.

"Hey", Baekhyun spoke up, still reading through the papers and one hand on the door knob already.

"Hm?" the other hummed, turning his head around while on his chair.

"Do you think you can help me out?"

"Again?" the young man whined.

"Man up."

"Said the one without a heart", his friend snapped.

"Good point. 0:1 for you."

"When do you want to go?"

"Tomorrow. After school", the black haired answered, looking up from the papers. "You have a lighter?"

The young man opened a drawer on his desk and picked up a small metallic lighter, throwing it over to Baekhyun. "I'll be coming around when you finished."

B lit up the lighter and set the documents on fire, throwing them into the next trash can he saw. His friend in response immediately jumped up and kicked the trash can, stomping on the fire with his feet. "What the heck are you doing, Baekhyun?" he yelled. "I have an alarm inside of this flat! Couldn’t you have burned them outside at least? Why did I even print them?"

"Don't call this room flat", B huffed. “And, well, you have a point.”

"I do have a kitchen and a bathroom!"

"Anyways, I'd like you to come with me. Today."

"Why is that?" the young man questioned, frowning.

"So my plans aren't delayed because of you coming too late."

His friend rolled with his eyes. "It was only once it happened", he whined.

"Once too often", Baekhyun voiced.

"Fine, let me g – "

"No need, you still have things over at my place", B cut the other off.

The young man only sighed, his cheeks puffing up and yet another fierce glare was thrown at Baekhyun. "Bastard..."

"Ouch", the black haired acted.

 

\-----------

 

It was a rather dark morning; the weak sunrays hitting the young man's face made him pinch his eyes. But that wasn't what made him ultimately wake up. It was a heavy knocking on the door that made him turn around and eventually got him off the sofa, pulling his blanket along halfway. Only in underwear he opened the door, wide eyes and plump lips met his gaze. 

The person in front of him eyed his trained body and slowly trailed down to his underwear. "I-I didn't know Baekhyun has such a visit over", the smaller one stuttered.

The young man cleared his throat, gaining back the attention to his face. "May I help you?"

"I-is Baekhyun there?"

"A second", the young man told the other. "Baekhyun!"

"What is it?" B grunted from his bedroom, his eyes still shut.

"There is someone for you!" his friend yelled back.

"Who is it, Junmyeon?"

"It's Kyungsoo!" the smaller one answered on his own.

Baekhyun only moaned loudly, turning around in his bed. "Let him in", he said, rolling down his bed.

Junmyeon stepped aside and let Kyungsoo in. "I'd offer you a seat, but this one is mine", he yawned, falling back onto the sofa and snuggling into the blanket. He shut his eyes and his cheeks became much puffier again; just like a baby.

In the meantime Baekhyun already came around the corner, dragging his school bag behind. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a tired voice.

"I thought I'd pick you up for an exchange", Kyungsoo sheepishly explained. "I even bought you some coffee and a croissant with chocolate." He held up a small paper bag. "B-but I didn't know you'd have this kind of v-visit."

"Calm down", B ordered. "He's an old friend."

"That's right!" Junmyeon commented, eyes still closed and sticking up one finger in the air, but immediately dropping it again.

"Oh... Shall we just go then?" Kyungsoo asked, offering the small paper bag in his right.

Baekhyun nodded and gratefully took the bag. "See you later, Junmyeon." The other only hummed.

Once outside the black haired took out the croissant and broke it in half, a creamy filling popping out a bit. He gave one half his smaller friend and took the coffee he brought him. When he took a sip he quickly noticed it is fairly sweet and has plenty of milk in it. "Oh? Have you ever made coffee for me before?"

"N-no", Kyungsoo answered, nibbling on his croissant. "I just took what I think you'd like. If you dislike it you can just th – "

"It's perfect, thank you", B cut his friend off, putting on a light smile. 

The smaller one fell silent for a while. A long while. Nearly the whole way to school Kyungsoo spent remaining quiet and slowly eating his croissant, tiny bit for tiny bit.

Baekhyun though eventually broke the silence and spoke up: "What is it that is concerning you?"

"Nothing", the smaller one waved him off. "How come?"

"Every time you restrain of asking something you get nervous."

"God damnit", Kyungsoo sighed. He turned his head to his right and looked up to his friend. "Baekhyun, are you really alright?"

"Yes, of course. Why are you asking?" B tilted his head to the side and put up a wondering expression.

"You just left the impression there are things not going well in your life", the little one admitted. "I'm worried."

Baekhyun slung his arm around the other's neck and pulled him closer, rumpling his black hair. "Don't be", he laughed. "I swear, everything is alright."

"Promise?"

"Promise", the black haired assured. "Thank you for worrying though."

After a short walk that remained they arrived at their school, picking up Jongdae after small talk and going into their respective courses. It was the only day none of them were together in any class. They only saw each other during the breaks.

B sat down in the back row, resting his head on the wall beside him. Mindlessly he drove his hand over the stacker below the desk and found something soft, but hard, and cold on it. He picked it up. It was a note, neatly folded. The black haired opened it and read the words that left an imprint in his mind. 

"I know what you are."


	2. The Seer

_"Right", the older man yelled. The young boy hit with his fist forward. "Left", his voice rang once again. The boy followed with his other fist, hitting with immense strengths. "Once again", the old man demanded._

_His son already was exhausted, sweat was dripping down his forehead, hair drenched wet. He propped up on his thighs, which were abnormally thick for his age._

_"Yixing!" the harsh voice rang. "Stand up straight!"_

_"Yes, father", the young boy said, still panting. With all his force he lifted his body up and returned to the former stance, throwing two punches forward._

_A creaking noise echoed from behind as the enormous door opened and an elderly looking man stepped in, covered in the attire of a servant. "Mr. Zhang", he spoke up. "It's time."_

_The older man threw a gaze to his side, nodding. "Alright. You are dismissed."_

_"Can I stop now?" young Yixing asked, leaving the fighting stance._

_"Yes", his father approved._

_The younger sank down on the mattress beneath him and reached for the water bottle standing at the side. He poured the water down in one go and exhaled heavily as he set down the plastic bottle._

_"Say, father", Yixing spoke up. The older man turned back his attention to his son, halting in front of the door. "Why is Mr. Liu's chest always empty?"_

_Hearing that Mr. Zhang frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked in an uncertain voice. The older man went back to the resting young boy and kneeled right in front of him._

_Yixing tapped on his father's chest. "When I look at you, I'm convinced you have a heart", he explained. "But Mr. Liu just has this dark hole circling on his chest. Why is that so?"_

_The older man was confused. What was his son talking about? It's true, Yixing had been looking at the servant with an unsure expression, but what the younger just asked is completely new to his ears._

_"Say, Yixing, does 'this' happen to you often?" Mr. Zhang started to investigate._

_His son nodded. "It happens all the time."_

_"Interesting..."_

_Later revealed Mr. Liu really turned out to be a Heartless. He was taken into custody, marked as a traitor for deceiving the King and the Parliament's representatives and later hanged as part of the Law of Decimation._

_Yixing was confronted with various tests that should prove the gift that he inherited. All his predictions were right with a rate of 100%. All servants that were working for the government faced the same fate as Mr. Liu. The younger had noticed how his gift was used and heavily disliked it. He never knew when this ability started to blossom, but it seemed to always have been there._

_As time passed Yixing grew older and was still used to make out Heartless which met a gruesome punishment, one worse than the other. In a cold night the teenager tried to sleep, but didn't succeed. The chilly air crept up his spine and the sweat pearls rolling down his face were wetting his pillow. He rolled around, trying to get comfortable, but only arched his back in pain due to lying in hurtful positions._

_As his eyes ripped open a glowing light covered him. From above Yixing made out a woman with dark violet curled hair slowly descending. Her armor rattles as she stepped on the ground and white feathers swirled around her._

_Frightened Yixing took steps back, his bare feet leaving a dull sound on the marble floor. His heart was beating wildly and his hands ran cold. The woman in front followed him with heavy steps, her metal boots leaving an echoing noise._

_"Zhang Yixing", she spoke up in a soft voice._

_"H-how do you know my name?" the other stuttered, still unsure about the situation he was in. The closer the woman came the warmer it became around the younger. It was soothing, the warmth underlining the blooming radiance the woman gave off._

_She reached out with her arm and gently drove over Yixing's cheek with her thumb. The leather on his skin was prickling. "Don't be afraid, my child", the woman tried to calm the younger. "I came to talk to you."_

_"About what?" Yixing asked, still cautious even though his heart beat died down to a normal pace and the warmth lightly kissed his cold body. The scent of roses enamored him._

_"I have chosen you", the soft voice said, the woman's rosy lips voicing each word carefully._

_"What do you mean?" Yixing was heavily confused. He didn't understand what was happening to him. The only obvious thing was the beautiful lady in shining armor in front of him._

_"The power I have granted you, use it to make up for the mistake I have brought upon", she pleaded. "You, as one of the Seers, are my only hope." The image of her became blurry, her existence seemed to fade._

_Gasping Yixing woke up, sitting up straight. He heavily panted and tried to grab hold of his blanket. Looking around the younger figured he was back in his room, the lady in armor gone._

"Dr. Zhang", a voice echoed from behind, nearing the young man in his laboratory.

"What is it?" Yixing asked, pouring a red liquid into a vessel shaped like a heart, focused.

"You have a visitor."

"Is it _the_ one?"

"I think so", the other man guessed.

"Black hair, dark circles under his eyes, a hoodie, how can you not know?" Yixing scolded.

“B-but sir, that fits so many p –“

"Just let him in."

“Understood”, the man confirmed, going back upstairs.

As soon as the person was let in he looked around weirdly. He eyed the huge glass containers with several hearts. They differed a lot from each other. One was nearly falling apart, the other broken, the one in the far back missed some parts and some were cracked.

With slow steps the young man went to the other who was wearing a white coat over his casual clothes. The silhouette seemed oddly familiar to him. "You ordered me here...sir?" he spoke up, gaining attention of the one in front of him.

Yixing looked up from his experiment and put down the test tube. "Yes, I did", he said, turning around, a soft smile painting his face. "Were you much surprised, Baekhyun?"

"Yixing?" the other wondered, a confused look on his face.

"Please, stop acting. I really wrote the message you found under your desk."

B immediately dropped his expression, looking coldly as usual. "So, what do you want?" he spit out. "You are working for the government I reckon, so why bring me here?"

"You know..." Yixing started off, starting to slowly walk around the other. "I have gained interest in you."

"Interest?"

"Exactly. I want you to test something for me", he explained carefully.

"I guess it has to do something with this replica." Baekhyun pointed to the vessel – now heart – on the desk.

"You're smart", the other remarked. "But how did you know it's a replica?"

B went over and bent forward. "You have used similar material to an original heart, which isn't noticeable at the first sight; they work as well as normal substances in a heart. But you failed to complete the synthesis of the ingredients", he plainly elucidated. "The cellular respiration isn't functioning flawlessly as you can see on the small black dots." Baekhyun pointed to an area that was already slowly crumbling. "So the heart itself will decrease in size and completely disappear. You could say it is eating itself to prevent the walls from breaking."

Yixing looked in shock as B let out the words, flowing like a river with no end. "H-how did you make it o-out so easily?" the Chinese man stuttered. He was completely left speechless, baffled how correct Baekhyun's explanation seemed to be.

"I'm a biology major", the other simply answered.

"But your knowledge is incredible!" Yixing exclaimed.

"I have much time to learn."

Wondering the Chinese man eyed the black haired and lightly shook his head. "Anyways, about my request."

"You want me to test this, right?" Baekhyun guessed, turning around to Yixing again.

"Exactly", the other confirmed.

"So, what's in for me then?"

"I...didn't think about that."

B smirked, an idea spreading in his head. He never thought he'd favor this over Junmyeon someday. "You are working for the government, right?" he asked rhetorically. Yixing only nodded in response. "Which degree?"

"First", the other answered.

"Perfect."

"What do you mean?" the brown haired carefully asked, raising an eyebrow.

Baekhyun neared the other, grabbing his shoulders tightly. He leaned forward up to Yixing's ear. "In exchange for acting as your labor rat you'll get me classified information whenever I desire", he whispered in a moderate tone, his hot breath lying heavy on the Chinese's skin, prickling. It crept up his spine. Even though Yixing was aware of the fact Baekhyun was unable to feel, he made out something dark surrounding him, an aura impersonating a feeling similar to hatred, disgust.

"What do you say?" B asked, letting go of the other.

The brown haired bit down on his bottom lip, averting his gaze. It was a dilemma that caught him. Declining would result in his research going downhill yet again. Accepting though could cost him his life once it's brought to the King. And why even would he need information coming directly from the government? What was he up to? The weight on Yixing's chest pressed tighter and he felt his insides being squished. "I aprove of your offer", he blurted out, lightheaded. “But”

“But?”

“I demand your trust in everything. Anything I tell you will be returned with an answer to my questions.” He stretched out his hand which got met by Baekhyun's.

"The deal is sealed", B darkly said. "No turning back." Both nodded in agreement.

With light steps the brown haired went over to the replica, still fully working and in a good condition. "Pull up your hoodie", he ordered Baekhyun who gladly followed the instructions.

Out of his coat's pocket Yixing pulled a golden key, shapeless. The black lock on B's chest was absorbing any light that met its surface. Oddly the brown haired’s hand shook as he neared the other's chest with the key. Once close enough the key started to twist and stretch out small pillars. It had problems forming flawlessly immediately as it seemed.

"You have a rather unusual lock", the brown haired remarked, waiting for the key to finish transforming. "And for a Heartless your body is trained very well."

"Why, thank you. It was a lot of work", Baekhyun mocked. "By the way, where did you get that key?"

"The government has plenty of these. They are actually for defensive reasons", Yixing explained.

"I see..."

By now the key stopped forming and the Chinese pushed it into B's lock, turning it around. It ached a little in the other's chest. Carefully the brown haired set in the replica with both hands and closed the small door.

For a few seconds Baekhyun didn't notice any changes, but like a thunder strike warm blood shot through his whole body and his chest cramped violently. His veins were pulsing, vision blurry and legs shaky. B sank down, kneeling down on all four. He heavily panted and screamed as a stinging pain crossed through his whole body. The overflow of emotions he now was able to feel erupted and shut down his ability of body control.

Yixing got down, packing the other on his back and hit it lightly. "Hey, Baekhyun, are you okay?" he yelled, worry whirling in his voice.

The dreaded screams Baekhyun gave off suddenly died out and turned into heavy laughter that echoed through the whole laboratory. The brown haired eyed B in confusion, not sure what was going on. Sorrowful tears and cries followed right after; the black haired’s insides spun around.

B fell to the side and deeply in- and exhaled, regaining focus. The brown haired bent forward and looked into the other's eyes which now had a glowing brown. "Is it over?" Yixing asked, driving through Baekhyun's black strains. Sweat was rolling down his forehead.

The black haired looked up and eyed Yixing. A small thump in his chest rang through his body, a warm feeling lacing him. "This feels oddly weird", he said. "Wait a second..."

Quickly the black haired jumped up and looked at the other with a cheerful expression. "I can feel, Yixing!" he yelled happily. He knew what he felt at the moment was happiness. Baekhyun could name any feeling, but knowing what is like was by far better.

Delighted B hugged Yixing, but immediately let go of him again. “Okay, this was odd”, the black haired said, falling back to his old self.

"It truly did work, I can tell", the brown haired chuckled.

Reassured the transfer went well he still felt the boiling aura around the other. Like a companion it sat on his shoulders, black claws pierced in his chest. It frightened the Chinese man, chills running down his spine.

"Who knew I'd be like this with a heart?" Baekhyun wondered.

He got back up and pulled Yixing along. "Nevermind." His expression went cold again. "Much definitely hasn't changed."

There it was again what the brown haired feared. Oddly it wasn't threatening at all. It was a bad aura brought forth by good intentions, he figured. "What will you do now?" the Chinese man asked.

"Do some test of my own, I guess." Baekhyun pulled up a small smile. "I'll be leaving. I'm going to hit you up and tell you about my experience."

"What about tomorrow, 5pm?" the other suggested.

"Very well." B bowed down, arm crossed over his chest. "I'll take good care of this flawed replica", he teased.

"Did you mean: _thanks_ ", Yixing went along to the joke.

It felt weird to now see Baekhyun have feelings. A huge part of him changed and it was strangely charming looking at it objectively, but the small parts were what made him himself. Everything new was artificial after all.

B took his leave and headed straight back to his apartment where Junmyeon was waiting for him. How he would react?

Yixing leaned back and exhaled. "That's something you brought me there, Cordea", he lightly whined, looking up to the glowing light tangling from above.

A vortex of white feathers came down and a lady in armor stepped forth, her curly violet hair falling over her shoulders nonchalantly. "It's the gift I have given you, not directly me", she spoke up, a soft smile gracing her face. "But tell me, what did you see? Why did you gain interest in him?"

Yixing wasn't sure himself. He fixed his gaze on the ground. "I'm not quite certain. It was odd", he answered.

"What was odd?" Cordea wondered, resting her index finger on her rosy lips.

"I told you about how I see a Heartless' chest, right?"

"Yes", she confirmed. "You chose to say it was just a giant black void."

"But with him, it wasn't quite the same", the brown haired puzzled. "It wasn't really a void. It was dark, but I am sure I can see a small puddle of light."

"This sounds rather impossible", the lady disputed. She went over to Yixing and sat down next to him on the table. Her heavy armor rattled against the metallic surface, a creaky noise echoed through the room as it slid over. "It would implicate he does have a heart, a soul."

"That's what is weird. I literally looked into his chest and saw nothing. It was empty."

"Hm", Cordea voiced. "You have to observe that. It's strange even for me and I created your species."

"Also, note that I cannot see heart replicas in people", the brown haired immediately remarked after. "My powers truly are limited."

"I wouldn't say limited", the woman talked back. "They just show you how things truly are, they don't deceive you."

"You are probably right", Yixing sighed, agreeing with Cordea.

"Of course I am", she joked, lightly cackling. The brown haired huffed, mouth tips curled up.

 "It's time for me now", the lady said.

 Right as Yixing looked to his left a strong wind passed by and blew the woman in shining armor to feathers, disappearing into thin air. The blow whirled up some research papers and left the laboratory in silence.

"Let's see how things go."

\-----------

Once the sun had set, Chanyeol closed his shop for regular customers and sat down behind the counter, taking a strawberry lollipop out of the jar. He pulled forth a black velvet casket, opening it and exposing a shimmering golden key, adorned with a rose in the same color at the end.

Softly he drove over it with his long fingers, his heart falling with a big overthrow. A sudden sadness overran him and tears gathered in his glassy eyes. A short sniffle echoed through the room. “I hope you are well”, it ran out of his mouth.

“To that day I’m still sorry, but I made the right decision”, Chanyeol spoke to the key, treating it like a person. “I think…”

A hand with long delicate fingers shut down the casket in front and the lanky man behind the counter snapped up his gaze to the person with black streaks and a wide smile running from one to the other corner of his mouth.

“Still dwelling in old memories?” Baekhyun asked knowingly. “Will you ever let it go?”

The red haired wiped away his few pearly tears with his oversized black sweater. “You seem oddly happy”, Chanyeol remarked.

Suddenly it hit him like a lightning strike. The younger in front of him looked _happy_. _He_ , the Heartless of all people. It didn’t go right through the lanky man’s head. It stuck right in the middle of his brain and made him stare at the other for a felt eternity.

“Something wrong?” B smirked.

Chanyeol shook his head, shooting out of his thoughts. “Something is different about you.”

“I’m glad you noticed.”

The other tilted his head. “Hm?”

Baekhyun propped up on the counter, resting his head on his hand. He took out the red haired’s lollipop with the other and put it into his own. “Let’s say for a time being I’m one of you”, he announced with a bright smile.

“I usually am the one to be weird”, Chanyeol commented with widened eyes. “But you are having it today.”

With a smug smile B pulled his hoodie and put in a golden key he fished out of his jean’s pocket. Once his chest was unlocked he showcased the heart he was gifted by Yixing. If gifted was the right word was debatable, but at least he got it without a not that big quid pro quo.

The other’s jaw dropped down a meter as he spotted the glowing red heart. “H-how, what, I-I – “

“It’s a replica”, the black haired nonchalantly said, shrugging. “I won’t last long, but I was asked to test it.”

“Has he finally done it?” Chanyeol wondered, his voice toned down.

“Hm?” B voiced.

“Dr. Zhang, has he done it?”

“I _did_ indeed get it from a ‘Dr. Zhang’”, the other answered, letting go of his pullover after he shut the small door again. “But are we referring to the same person?”

“Zhang Yixing, a wunderkind in terms of science and the arts of any kind of fighting”, the red haired stated. “I met him when he was still a teenager.”

“I always forget how old you are”, the black haired sighed, sitting down on a stool.

“28 isn’t that old, Bakehyun”, the other threw back.

“Anyways, yes, I got this replica from Zhang Yixing. How long has he been working on this?”

“Since he was 16 or 17, I believe. It was close to the ‘ _you-know-which_ - _day’_.”

“Why do you always have to describe it like this?” Baekhyun complained.

“Because I don’t want to talk about this day”, Chanyeol clarified a little testy. “And I beg for your acceptance towards it.”

A slight twist in B’s chest ran through his body, an emotion that was new to him. He reckoned it was feeling apologetic. “Sorry for that”, he brought forth. “I’ll try to avoid mentioning it as well.”

A little surprised due to not being used to his friend actually answering with feeling something the red haired put on a light smile. “Thank you”, he answered lightly. “Back to where we stopped.”

“Was he always determined to creating something like that?”

Chanyeol nodded. “He was literally dedicated to it. I got to know him as a cheerful young boy, but somehow he changed abruptly.”

"In what way?" Baekhyun asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I don't really know..." the other answered. “He became quiet, isolated himself in his room whenever he could."

"Whenever he could?”

"He's used by the government to identify Heartless."

"How's that?" B wondered.

Chanyeol huffed. "You don't know about our world too much, don't you?"

The black haired shook his head and confirmed. "That's correct."

"I'll try explaining things to you when you get to know Yixing a little more", the red haired assured. "I'd like some time for myself now, if you don't mind."

"That's alright", the other said, hitting his friends cheek lightly. "I'll get going."

Baekhyun stood up from the stool and pulled up his hood while Chanyeol was already stroking the casket in front again. Once B reached for the door handle, something fell into his mind. Something he urged to say.

"Hey, Chanyeol", he spoke up, gaining the lanky man's attention. "Since I have a heart now..."

"Yeah?" the other replied.

"I should thank you for everything you have done. Thank you, for making _that_ day happen." He turned around with a wide smile spreading across his face, radiating in his friend's eyes. With a wink he opened the door and left Chanyeol with a baffled face.

"This kid", he huffed, wiping over his glassy eyes.

He wished for these words, he longed for them since _that_ day. He wanted the reassurance he's done the right thing. That he saved someone it was worth for killing. And today, not only he could confirm it himself, but Baekhyun could. Chanyeol doesn't regret what he has done back then now.

\-----------

Yixing pulled up his white robe's hood and put on a mask shaped like a butterfly, adorned with a glowing blue, black brims and antennas. He pushed open the massive door and stepped into the barely illuminated room. Everything around the table 6 other masked people were sitting on was pitch-black. The gazes thrown at him were intimidating; the atmosphere seemed pressed, tensed even.

"We've been waiting for you", the woman with the cat mask said.

"I'm sorry, Madame Chat", the young man answered. "I had some things to do."

"What is more important than this meeting, Nabi?" another woman from across the table asked, adjusting her fox mask.

Yixing chuckled and sat down on his rightful seat, next to a man with a rather unordinary mask. It was swathed with chains and rattled at the slightest move. This very man turned to the younger next to him.

"How has the 'hunt' been?"

"We're on a drought", Yixing openly admitted. "The Law of Decimation seems to be brought into motion. Even though it has taken place in Korea only."

"And again I'm ignored", the fox lady sighed, crossing her legs. “Youth nowadays.”

"Don't bother yourself too much", Agma said. "You know them."

"Of course I do."

“Also, you have neither a clue how old I am nor what I look like, Kitsuna”, Nabi threw in archly.

"Anyways", a person with tiger mask spoke up. "Do we have anything else to discuss?"

A rather small person raised his hand and spoke up in a quiet voice. "I do."

"What is it?" Chat asked.

"I saw a death", the person said.

"You always see them", the man next to Yixing said.

"You don't get it", the smaller person talked back.

"Don't tell me..." Yixing exclaimed, shocked. Uneasiness was spreading in his voice. All masks were now looking at the small person at the end of the table.

"Who is it, Nox?" the man with the chain mask demanded to know.

The smaller silently lifted his arm and pointed to the left, directly at the person that had asked him.

"You are joking!" he roared, jumping up, slamming his fists on the table. "You must have made a mistake!"

"You know yourself, the powers of a Seer have an accuracy of hundred percent", Chat argued.

"That's true", Agma gave support. "There is no way he is wrong."

"Do you at least can tell me who it is?" the man the smaller, exhaling while sighing as he leaned back in his seat. He cooled down again pretty quickly.

"Unfortunately not", he moderately answered. "Our powers are accurate, but limited at some points."

"And this as well is – ", Chat attempted to throw in, but got cut off.

"We got it, it's correct", the man in the tiger mask snapped.

“You _all_ seem a little tensed today”, Nox remarked. “Shouldn’t it be only him though?”

“He is right”, Nabi soothed. “We have these meetings to discuss how we execute the orders given by the king, not to unload our tension and bad mood on each other.”

“Nabi is right”, Agma agreed.

The man in tiger mask huffed. “Some of you really _are_ pissing me off.” He directed his gaze towards Agma. “You can be glad to be the first Seer, else I wouldn’t have the slightest respect for you.”

“What? Are you still salty about your arm, Tigris?” Chat asked as she chuckled. “The mechanic one is better isn’t it?”

“I could have saved the King if it wasn’t for him!” Tigris exclaimed.

“You wouldn’t even be here if not for this event”, Kitsuna argued. “You should better be thankful to sit here, all alright and well.”

“This arm was the sacrifice to save you from the traitors”, Agma explained. “You didn’t stand a chance against them. And even I had a hard time, despite my abilities as a Seer.”

“And I think you can be talking about luck that neither Chat nor Agma have given either of us your identity”, Yixing added. “You’d be a dead mouse by now, big cat.”

It’s true what the younger said. The rule preventing that each of the present Seers knows any of the other ones protects them all. Only the king and his closest guards have access to this information. Everyone else cannot access the files of any of the Seers, not even with a level 1 allowance.

Also, Yixing may not have spoken for everyone, but for only himself in The 7th Circle. If he knew who the other 6 Seers were, he’d hunt them down until the last of them has set down their sword and broken their shield. He could never forgive any for them for voluntarily going against Cordea’s benevolence. She was the one thinking these people could change the world, correct her mistake in a peaceful way, but they used their powers for the government; with the same mindset, with the same cruel strategies, with the same manipulative words and the same degrading treatment towards Heartless. Yixing had enough of these hypocrites who say they are only following the Goddess’ will. It’s complete bullshit. Cordea has already stopped believing in The 7th Circle. Well, only Yixing is entrusted with her faith.

“Oh?” Chat voiced. “Is the young one becoming thirsty?”

Nabi chuckled. “Just because I’m the 7th doesn’t make me the young one, Madame Chat.”

“And why am I a “madame” then?” she smiled.

“It fits your name.”

Agma stood up and stretched himself. “Are we finished here? Chat and I still have to see Damon.”

“I also have unfinished business”, the man with the chain masked said.

“Then, you are all dismissed.”

\-----------

“Target locked”, Baekhyun said through the ear piece.

Night was lying down all over Seoul, the sun setting as B was lying down opposite to a great factory, directly looking through the dusted windows next to the rusty pipes. The building was very old, nearly crumbling to pieces. His hood was pulled up and the roof hiding him from any sight, breath slowed down to a minimum, any movement avoided. He fixed the person with his visor and waited for the right moment to pull the trigger. Another man next to his victim was distracting him and Baekhyun hesitated to land a shot.

Junmyeon was hiding in an alley with the factory in his line of sight. He still was unsure about helping Baekhyun, since it’s 5 years ago now he’s been in combat and the last time he had faced The Chain it didn’t go well for him. The brown haired was marked for his life, in- and outside.

“Understood”, he answered, pressing down on the device in his ear. “I still cannot believe you really did steal from the government.”

“It was your rightful equipment. I mean, you kept the threads as well.”

“You never know what happens”, the other argued back. “Besides, what is taking you so long?”

“He’s not alone. I might miss the shot.”

“Since you have this heart it seems to distract you”, Junmyeon remarked, a chuckle leaving his lips. “You know now how hard decisions are?”

The black haired rolled with his eyes, but kept his gaze fixed on the target that was still talking to the other person. “Yes, I do. But I won’t let it influence me.”

“I still don’t understand what you want from me”, Nabi said to the man with the chained mask. “I’m not here to play your bodyguard.”

“Please, I beg you”, The Chain pleaded. “I’ll find my end today if – “, he pleaded, but got cut off by a bullet rushing through the window behind him. He could dodge it just like that, as well as Yixing who jumped back, gracefully landing on his feet again.

“He saw the bullet coming”, Bakehyun cursed. “I need you to go in and spin your net.”

“I haven’t herd that in ages”, the brown haired laughed. “Be sure to follow behind closely.”

Junmyeon stormed ahead through the muddy puddles, splashing it the dirty water all over the street. He pulled up his black robe’s hood and silently entered the factory hall. Small, fine threads were spun around his fingers and drawn through the whole hall.

“What is happening?” Nabi asked, still shocked by the sudden bullet that came through.

“The spider is spinning his web again”, the masked man chuckled, turning around to a pile of stacked barrels. “I know you are there, guardian.”

“Oh, please”, Junmyeon said as he stepped forth from his hiding spot. “You know yourself that is long in the past.”

“Do you know him?” Yixing quietly asked, drawing back one of his feet and shifting into a fighting stance.

The Chain nodded, the chains on his mask rattling. “Oh, yes, I do.” He stretched out an arm to hold back the other Seer. “This one is mine, you better handle the one coming around the building.”

“Roger”, the other agreed, running through the great hall and exiting right through the entrance Baekhyun was rushing to.

As soon as their eyes met, B drew his rifle forth at the same time as Nabi put up his two pistols. Both moved swiftly and neither noticed the weapons on their heads, until the cold iron was pressing against their foreheads. Even though the masks were hiding nearly all of their faces, they had a suspicious feeling about the other in front.

With a kick from underneath, the black haired swept Yixing off his feet and attempted to jump over him, but with a last grasp he got pulled down by the other, loosing grip of his rifle. Nabi got up again quickly and climbed on top of Baekhyun, throwing a punch right into his face.

To defend himself B pulled the other down by his collar and head-butted him. The Seer grabbed his head that was furiously burning and sending aching sparks through his skull. This was the other’s chance to flee, pushing his opponent behind. He searched for his weapon and picked it up like a reflex.

He was blindly firing bullets behind to distract the Seer. He sped up his pace and searched for another entrance, but didn’t succeed. In the end he was trapped in a dead end, Nabi following just right behind, embracing him in a ball hail. Neither shot was successful, but one of the projectiles splintered off a part of Baekhyun’s mask.

“Damn it”, he exclaimed. B desperately reached for his hook and tried to throw it out, but the suddenly quick appearance of the Seer in front of him startled him, so he let loose of the rope and lifted up his weapon, ready to snipe. He had his finger on the trigger and Yixing’s head targeted through the visor.

“A step closer and I’ll shoot. I never miss.”

Nabi attempted to take a step forward, as a bullet just ran past his neck and opened a wound. The blood was flowing down his white robe and drenched it in a crimson red.

“But you just did”, he monotonously threw back. Yixing laid his hand down on the injury. His hand began glowing in a soothing warm light that even reached Baekhyun. It was embracing him, but felt too good-natured to intend harm. Instead it indeed healed the wound. It disappeared completely and not a single scar was left.

The black haired heavily swallowed and leaned closer against the wall as Nabi stepped closer, his blood pressure rising, veins pulsing and breath faltering. In shock he dropped his rifle and was only staring at the human in front. Was he even human? Baekhyun for sure didn’t know. What he just has seen was close to magic, but it felt too pure to spring from a dark power.

“Shall we stop the games now, Baekhyun?” Yixing said, taking off his butterfly mask and took his last steps to be standing directly in front of the other.

As he spotted the face B’s heart dropped down and his knees became wobbly. He barely could hold himself up due to the fear that rose inside him. A relieved sigh left his mouth and he himself put down his mask.

“You have scared the shit out of me, Yixing”, the black haired scolded. “Do you have any idea how unnecessary this was?”

The Seer shook with his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to see myself how your heart works and it indeed is quite a successful experiment.”

B clicked with his tongue. “At least don’t go for everything you have the next time.”

“I just wanted to see what the legendary B has in his repertoire”, the other smiled.

“Legendary?”

“You are a big talk among the government employees and the king”, Yixing explained. “Even though your victims aren’t big in count, they have weakened the system. Well done.”

Baekhyun put on a little smile, proud of what he has caused, but immediately shook his head, dismissing the though. “Anyways”, he spoke up. “Is your neck alright?”

“Oh? This?” the brown haired touched his neck. “Yes it is all healed.”

“How? What did you do earlier?”

“I’ll explain things later”, he assured. “But I think Mr. Kim needs our help more.”

“I haven’t seen you for a long time, Junmyeon”, The Chain laughed. “Well, if I could even really see things would be easier.”

The other put on a bright smile. “Lost your privilege as a Seer?” he questioned. “Wouldn’t surprise me at all.”

“You aura is glowing as red as ever.”

“It’s supposed to”, the brown haired answered, faking a smile. “Or shouldn’t it, Yifan?”

The Seer took off his mask and dropped it to the ground. He drove through his hair and took some steps closer to Junmyeon, his shoes clacking on the smooth surface of the old factory ground. He tried to throw out the chains attached to his arms, but suddenly he felt something thin tightly wrapping around his right, holding him back.

“Ah”, Yifan exclaimed. “You already have laid out your web, spider.”

Only slightly moving his fingers the brown haired was able to pull back his opponents arm and disable him from moving any further. The other though only put on a cocky smirk and ripped down his arm, tearing the threads and freeing his limb.

A little shocked by the immense power Junmyeon withdrew some steps behind. “He seems stronger”, he thought. The brown haired eyed his surroundings and thought about the ways things could go. The first possibility was for Yifan to go further in front, but he would soon notice it’d end in a trap, since Junmyeon has spun his threads everywhere in front.

A weak point would be his sides, but for that the Seer would have to break through one net to his right, so only the left is open for him to use. Since his opponent has the ability to see the aura of humans, despite being completely blind, he’d also see the threads the spider has scattered across the hall. His energy is still sticking on them.

Yifan sighed as he eyed the other. “I always hated your quiet nature, which made boring the spear into your chest far more exciting.”

The Seer looked to his left and took a quick step into this direction. He bent the iron that was tangling from above and was falling down right on the brown haired. Junmyeon’s hands swiftly moved to the right just in time and adjusted the threads to block the other off, making him jump into his threads. The immense iron bar nearly got him and grazed his arm. Not minding the wound, he immediately pulled the fine strings tighter, making them saw through Yifan’s suit, cutting into his flesh.

“Fuck”, he loudly cursed. “I’m still surprised you never cut yourself on these damn things. But let’s just change that.”

Right as the words left his opponents mouth the brown haired noticed the chain around his leg, but couldn’t react quickly enough to get rid of it. The last thing he could do was to cut off the threads he was connected to, or else it would end in a dead end for both of them. He got pulled across the whole hall and met a freed Yifan, whose power was strong enough to whirl him up into the air, ramming his knee into Junmyeon’s stomach. He gagged in response and fell to the ground, arm wrapped around his gut tightly.

“Gotcha”, the Seer exclaimed, as he sat right above the other and started to throw a punch powerfully, but once again, his arm was held back. “What? When did you – “His sentence was cut off by a bunch of strings wrapping around his body.

The brown haired laughed and had his fingers tensed to prevent the other from moving at all cost. “If you thought throwing me in the air makes me lose my concentration, you were wrong.” He turned his head to the side and spit out the blood that was collecting in his mouth, leaving a metallic, warm taste.

Junmyeon crouched forth out of the other’s thighs and stood up straight again, pulling his opponent up and the threads around him tighter. Yifan tried to hold onto the strings that were suffocating him, nearly crushing his spine, but didn’t succeed. Yet he put on a smug smile.

“To be fair, you did surprise me with that”, he admitted. “But I rather find my death like this than in any other way.”

“What are you talking about?” the brown haired wondered.

“You remember Nox? He foresaw my death today.”

“This doesn’t surprise me at all. Serves you right.”

Right as Junmyeon was about to give the last pull to dismember Yifan, a voice held him back and let a little loose of the other, allowing him to break free. Though, he wasn’t able to move and sank down to his fours, panting and aching in pain.

“Stop it immediately!” the voice exclaimed

“It was about time, Nabi”, the Seer panted, his voice cracking and muffled. Blood was dripping down to the floor, yet a smirk kept up on his lips. As soon as he noticed another aura right behind, he got up on his knees and wanted to look around, but the wounds on his neck kept him from even moving an inch.

“ _Why_ is he still alive? _Why_ didn’t you kill him?” His questions got answered by cold iron pressed against the back of his head. “Ah, so _you_ are responsible for my death.”

While Junmyeon was confused by the sudden events, Yixing already had put his finger on the trigger. “I, Nabi, the 7th Seer, execute you, The Chain, the 5th Seer, for opposing the Goddess’ will, killing innocent people and injuring one of the royal guards.”

“I-I’m not a – “ the brown haired attempted to argue but along with  Yifan’s chuckle it was the last thing heard before a final last blow was fired and rang through the entire factory hall. His lifeless body dropped up front and a puddle of blood spread to the brown haired’s feet.

Nabi looked up to the man in front and put on a light smile. “I know you aren’t”, he clarified. “But back then you were and this is what counts.”

“Do I know you?”

Yixing put down his mask and looked at Junmyeon with sparkling eyes and a soft smirk. “I’m glad you survived back then, Mr. Kim.”

“Don’t tell me…” The brown haired took steps closer to the other, squinting. “Little Yixing?” he exclaimed, immediately wrapping his arms around the taller. Baekhyun only eyed the spectacle from a little farther away. He never would have known that these two actually do know each other and have been this close.

“It has been a long time”, Yixing remarked. “Thank you for everything back then.”

“Are you treated better by the current king?”

“I’m still sent out, but I don’t have to execute people myself”, he reassured. “My father is one of the royal guards and has found a place in the royal council next to Chat and Agma.”

Junmyeon let loose and patted the other’s soft cheeks. “You have grown. I’m proud, especially for what you have done for Baekhyun.”

“Ah, you know about it already?”

“I was the second to know”, he smiled.

B stepped closer to the two, but his gaze was glued to the dead Seer on the floor. He looked down for a final last time and spotted something cut into the dead man’s neck. With widened eyes squatted down and mustered the mark. It was scared and showed a broken heart, embraced with an opened mouth and fangs.

“Sorry to break the nice atmosphere”, the black haired spoke up. “But what is this.” He pointed to the scar he discovered. It seemed to unusual, obviously, to be considered as unimportant.

“I have seen this somewhere before”, Junmyeon remarked. “But I cannot remember what it means.” As he crouched down to his friend, he brushed over the mark.

“I remember it was a group with high technology security. I stumbled over one of their members as I wanted to access the databases connected to The Chain.”

Yixing came down next to him. “I know it”, he quietly said.

“What is it?” Baekhyun wondered.

The mark on Yifan’s neck is given to any member of the sect that follows altered beliefs of the original religion. This sect has many followers and groups that all seek for the same: gaining immortality like their goddess. They believe hearts are the key to reach a god-like state and hence, gain eternal life. The sect’s methods are cruel and each member participating in one of their hunts are struck down by the government if things come to light.

Yifan was a highly seen follower of the sect. Like the others, he doesn’t fear death, since they expect to be punished for trying to reach up to their goddess. Earlier surprise overran him, because he couldn’t finish his business.

“Hearteaters.”


	3. The Traitors

As the car came to a stop, the sirens fell silent and the blue and red light lit up the facade of the old factory which was nearly falling into brackets. Kyungsoo pushed open the co-dirver’s door and stepped on the crunching gravel. With fast steps he entered the old building, opening the massive, rusty door. His coat was flattering behind him due to his fast pace

“Sir!” a police officer greeted him, saluting.

The young man went past him, expecting the officer to follow, which he indeed did. “Any files?” he said, holding his hand up certainly, which got met by a rough paper folder.

“The victim is a man in his late twenties”, the police officer explained while the detective scanned the papers. “A shot in the head was the death cause.”

“Anything else?” the younger asked, handing back the files.

“Please, feel free to look for yourself.”

Once Kyungsoo was next to the corpse, he squatted down and examined the dead body with a careful gaze. With the gloves he got handed shoved over he mindfully lifted the man’s fingers and drove over his jacket, finding thin cuts on the fabric. The young detective turned the victim’s head.

“A clean shot from behind”, he remarked. “A physician come over here please.”

Right as ordered a woman in white robe and short brown hair joined with steady steps. “Yes, Sir?”

“Autopsy”, Kyungsoo ordered. “Anything you found?”

“Before the deathblow, he was severely injured”, the doctor explained. “It’s unknown what cut so deep into his limbs and abdomen, but it must have been done by someone skilled. The wounds are too precise to be inflicted by an amateur.”

“So, you cannot categorize the weapon?” the black haired asked.

“I’m sorry, but no. I, including my colleagues and the officers, have never seen anything like this.”

“I have an idea”, a person behind Kyungsoo spoke up. Several steps came closer towards him.

“Sirs, Madame”, a police officer saluted as 3 people came in, walking past him and straight to the corpse.

Kyungsoo turned around and spotted the masked people, immediately standing up straight and bowing down. “Sir Damon, Sir Agma, Madame Chat.”

“At ease”, Agma plainly said.

As he went past the black haired, he could feel a cold aura coming from him. It was like a ghost, clawed into his soul and leaving a scent of danger and especially fear for anyone who smelled it. It was striking, weakening and made Kyungsoo’s mouth all dry and hastily swallow saliva down his dehydrated throat.

“My, my, what have we here?” Chat sighed. “I didn’t think Nox’s prophecy would become reality this fast. Found out anything already?”

“Rather, Madame”, Kyungsoo allowed himself to speak up, despite his shaky leg and the intimidating feeling sent right up his spine from behind. “What brings the Royal Council here?”

The woman mustered the younger from head to toe. “Are you this junior detective everyone is talking about?” she asked with an impressed voice. “You’re quite the talk.”

The other nodded, drawing forth his badge. “Do Kyungsoo sent from the Royal Police Department.”

As Agma was already kneeling down, he looked slightly to his right, eyeing Kyungsoo. “Your father works for us, right?”

“Correct”, the young detective confirmed. “I have started helping out the RPD some months ago and became essential for solving cases as of now.”

“Interesting”, Damon remarked, chuckling a little. “I hope you are as good as people say, Mr. Do.”

“To answer your question, young boy”, Chat said, drawing attention. “It’s our duty to investigate the death of any Seer that meets their end.”

“S-s-seer?” Kyungsoo stuttered with widened eyes, gazing upon the dead body next to him. “He is one of the Seers?”

The woman nodded. “Exactly. He’s Wu Yifan, former executioner of the King’s traitors and Heartless. This man became a Seer after the ‘Great Fall’.”

“Furthermore”, Agma spoke up. “Do you think the Spider is still alive?”

“ _He_?” Damon reassured.

“Look at the wounds”, Chat remarked. “Have you seen anyone else being able to cause such injuries?”

Kyungsoo crossed his arms. “If this is true and the Spider is still among us, I’m certain he couldn’t have taken him out by his own.”

 “Don’t underestimate him”, the man in white mask chuckled.  “Together with his partner he was unbeatable. But I don’t think the Joker would dare to step out of line again.”

“That’s true”, the cat lady confirmed. “But who else would be able to take him out?”

“The pistol’s our only hint”, Damon answered. “So we might as well find out who fired the shot.”

Agma got up and turned to the other two council members. “We also should investigate about this”, he suggested, pointing at the red mark on the victim’s neck.

“Hearteaters, you said?” Baekhyun asked, leaning back on his sofa, fingers laced around each other and cupped behind his head.

Yixing nodded and hummed, throwing his white cloak over the chair next to him, the broken mask set on the table. He sat down on the same chair and rested his leg on the left knee. “They’re a bunch of fanatics, to put it short”, he explained. “They believe through eating hearts they can reach the level of a God, similar to the 3 that were holding up our world.”

“I didn’t know you are religious”, Bakehyun wondered.

“He isn’t”, Junmyeon spoke up from behind, coming out of the kitchen with a steaming cup. “Rather, he doesn’t need to believe, because he knows.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You remember what I did earlier, right?”

“The wound?” the black haired asked.

“Exactly”, Yixing confirmed. “Have you ever heard of ‘Seers’ or ‘The Heart Goddess’?”

“No.”

“She, who gives and takes life”, the older spoke up from behind as he held his cup lower. “They, who keep the worlds we live in aligned.”

“The chosen seven, given an ability each to help human kind when in need, by the almighty Goddess in shining armor”, the Seer continued. “With care She guides the souls through the hidden gates to take death and grant life.”

B tilted his head, made a weird grimace and frowned, confused what both of them were talking about. With a questioning gaze he looked behind to Junmyeon who was slurping his coffee. “Would you please explain what that just was?”

“We recited an excerpt of a story told among the royals, the government and their workers”, the older explained. “It’s not widely known among normal folk.”

“Explains why I have no clue what this is about”, Baekhyun shrugged.

“Our world is not the only world that exists”, Yixing spoke up, adding to the conversation. “Not only we humans exist, three Gods are keeping our world upright with their own realm.”

“Gods?”

Junmyeon nodded. “Yes. Cibeus, who created animals and plants, Terradeus, who formed and shaped our world and Cordea, who created human kind and is responsible for life and death.”

“But Cibeus and Terradeus met their end”, the Seer added. “So Cordea had to take over their tasks and hence gave up some of her power to plant it into seven humans with pure hearts. She at least thought it were pure hearts…”

The brown haired looked down, his face painted in a saddened expression. Baekhyun noticed and abruptly leaned over the sofa’s rest, trying to look up to the other from below. He caressed Yixing’s cheeks with careful fingers. “Are you alright?”

Quickly B withdrew and mustered his hand from his finger tips to his palm and tilted his head. The warm feeling inside of him rushed through his veins at once and made his body move on its own, he had no control over it. Nonetheless he tried to hide his confusion and looked at the Seer again with a caring gaze.

“Yes”, Yixing reassured. “It’s all alright. I’m just a little disappointed.”

“Because you are one of them?” Bakehyun figured. “Right?”

“Correct.”

“He can see people’s hearts”, Junmyeon added from behind. “That’s why he is the most useful to the government.”

The black haired looked up and turned behind him. “This explains how he found out about me!”

The Chinese man nodded. “Indeed.”

Bakehyun faced Yixing again and frowned, asking: “But what was this glowing-thingy you did earlier?”

“Healing”, it once again rang from behind, the sound of sipping from a cup following. “And both of these abilities are of great use. He’s to be loyal at any time, he swore on it.”

The Seer confirmed, nodding as he was lost in thoughts. He deeply in- and exhaled as he came to a decision and stretched out his arm, offering the black haired his hand he expected to be met by the other’s. “Allow me to help you with my powers, whatever your plan is.”

A short period of silence fell over the room and warily Baekhyun stretched out his arm. “Are you sure about it?”

A determined nod from Yixing made B gladly pack the Seer’s hand and shake it, a bright smile stretching across his face. “I’m glad to have you helping.”

“And whatever happens”, Junmyeon spoke up. With light steps he neared the other two and laced his fingers around their handshake. “I’ll be willing to help you execute your plan like I always have.”

 

\-----------

 

**_27 th November 2013: Day of the Fall_ **

_The halls were filled with guards, watching any entrance with caution, 2 assigned to each door. They were dressed in the King’s color: red. A helmet was covering their face, holes for eyes and mouth left. In the first hall, the Styx Hall, fine threads were spun right above, glittering in bright light, but they went unnoticed by either of the two guards. Only as they slung around one of them and sliced into the guard’s neck until the head was cut off, plopping down to the ground, the body following._

_Shocked and frightened, the other guard put up his shield and drew a sword forth. His limbs were trembling in excessive fear. He eyed the person coming down from above, the white coat flattering in the strong wind, landing on both feet softly. He looked right up at the guard, a white mask set on their face, resembling a spider with 8 red eyes and the fangs leading down the jaw line. The sound of a band quickly rolling up reached his ears, small lights flickering through the whole room as they all disappeared into the person’s sleeves._

_With a smug smile on their lips, the person pointed up, waving good bye to the guard who was too frozen to even move. Without even flinching, bells rung, legs were wrapped around his neck and clenched it tightly, twisting. The guard was thrown over, spine broken into two neat halves. A tall, lanky person got up from his knees and brushed off the dirt on his shoulders, the jester mask painted in white and black still ringing. He slid back his daggers into their sheath._

_“How could I have thought I might need them?” he huffed, unpleased by unnecessarily drawing the weapons out._

_The other sighed. “You’re such a show off, Chanyeol.”_

_“We have no time to be talking about this now, Junmyeon.”_

_Agreeing, the Spider went ahead and pushed open the gate-like door. It was standing immensely tall and creaked as it revealed the path to another great hall filled with guards. Chanyeol and Junmyeon took full charge and drew their weapons. The Joker splashed his daggers into the first guard’s neck and held them captive for a moment before throwing them over to the side. In the meantime the other spun his web and wrapped his strings around the sharpshooter sitting above on the balcony. As it seemed, someone has notified the facility of his and his partner’s arrival – their revolt._

_Loud marching intruded the room and cornered the two traitors whose death sentence seems to have been made. And in all the turmoil, a young man in black suit rambled through the guards. They weren’t in a massive group, but came in large numbers. The man seemed out of place and very young in addition. He held up his left hand, stopping the guards from moving forward as they faced the back of his hand. With the other side he drew out a gun, directly pointing at the lanky man in front._

_With a moderate tone the suited man spoke up: “No step further.”_

_“But, Governor!” one of the guards exclaimed but was silenced with a glare behind._

_“I don't want you to interfere, orders from above. I'll take care of them.” Clicking his tongue emphasized how serious he was about the matter._

_With swords, halberds and guns drawn back the guards withdrew and left the hall. Still pointing his gun up, the tall man neared Chanyeol who didn't even seem to move an inch, as well as Junmyeon._

_“Chanyeol, please”, the man suddenly pleaded, all the seriousness gone with the wind. “Don't do this. If you stop now I can drop any charges held against you and Junmyeon. Overthink what you are about to commit.”_

_The Joker's daggers dared to drop out of his hand, but the determination burning inside of his chest made him grab around them tightly, yet with a taste of regret. Slowly he approached the other man, his expression below the mask blank._

_"I cannot. Not yet”, Chanyeol answered._

_The young man shook with his gun, putting emphasis on his words: “I have orders to shoot!” Tears were filling in his eyes as the other neared._

_"And yet you cannot kill me", the Joker said, going past the loaded weapon, brushing against his arm he slung around the other. Immediately the gun fell to the ground and rang through the hall. Without hesitation the suited man held the crusader tight, ignoring the orders given. Even though he felt safe, yet an immense pain spread in his stomach. Chanyeol didn't stab, but punched him with all his strength. With widened eyes the other gasped for air as he slowly felt his consciousness fade._

_“I'm sorry”, it fell deaf on his ears. “I love you, Sehun”, was the last thing he perceived as he broke down into Chanyeol's arms._

_With a last kiss on his plump lips, the taller put him down on the ground with care and drove through his black hair. He brushed over Sehun's cheeks with his thumb, caressing it._

_“Are you alright?” Junmyeon asked from behind, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder._

_Chanyeol just sobbed, reaching under his mask to wipe his tears. “Do you think...he will hate me?”_

_“He loves you, Chanyeol.”_

_The other only huffed and adjusted his mask again. “We should go on, the throne room is ahead.”_

_Stretching out his hand, the brown haired pulled the other up, patting his right shoulder to clear his mind, making him focus. They turned around and faced the massive door, gate-like wide. Junmyeon lightly pressed a small button on his mask, the eight eyes glowing up in a light red._

_“He’s watched by two”, he said, turning his head to his partner. “You know what we are about to commit, right?”_

_Chanyeol nodded. “No turning back.”_

_“Alright.”_

_Determined they pushed the door open together and set foot into the room. The ceiling was endlessly high, the walls adorned with pillars and red banners, a lion printed on them. The chandeliers’ light was reflecting on the polished marble floor and the moon was hanging high in a dark night. Ahead were 3 people, one in the throne. The two guarding the king were also wearing masks and – of course – were known by the intruders._

_Agma clapped with his hands, almost applauding with surprise. “So, you have made it through?” he knowingly asked._

_While the Seer in front was speaking, Junmyeon already twirled up the thin threads on his fingers, the net spun through the entire room already. Wordless Chanyeol went into his fighting stance, lightly jumping with both his feet without leaving the ground. His daggers were drawn and grabbed around tightly._

_“Ah, I see”, the Chain said. “You’re not here to talk.”_

_A smug smile rose up on the brown haired’s lips. “Good observations.”_

_The taller dashed forward, his eyes set on the King who didn't even move a muscle. He sat there and let Chanyeol and his daggers come closer, so close the Seers at the sites should interfere, protect their King. But they did nothing. Not even the guards around the exits on the left and right moved an inch, not even a finger. They just stared forward and kept a straight face. They only watched the traitor close the distance, leaping up the high stairs over the red carpet._

_Junmyeon watched from behind and even though his expression didn't change, he was as confused as his partner seemed to be. Quickly he straightened his fingers and the fine threads across the hall hung loose, but straightened around the three ahead of the brown haired as the Spider spread his fingers widely._

_Chanyeol didn't notice anything and wasn't stopped from hurrying up the stairs; the last ones to go. In his run he pulled back his arms to pierce right through the King, but as he arrived a quiet sound underneath him echoed. Though he noticed, it was too late for the taller to even move away from the explosion that was erupting from down below. Just like that his partner curled up his fingers and roughly pulled his arms down, his knees giving in to support his stand. The dark thick smoke that was left behind by the explosion faded to thin dust and revealed the Joker tangling from above, threads around his arms and body._

_"Chanyeol!" Junmyeon angrily yelled. "Why aren't you more careful? This was_ obviously _a trap!"_

_Wordless his partner was pulled to the left and let down. Instead of complaining about getting scolded he thanked the other for saving him from the foolish mistake he got embraced in. Panting from the shock, eyes widened, he stood up straight again and ran his wrist over his lips._

_"This was dangerous. You should be more cautious", Chanyeol thought, mustering the chuckling Seers next to the throne._

_"Where's the real king?" the brown haired yelled._

_"Safe in his chambers", Agma admitted, twirling a ring around inside his hands. Though, he wasn't known for his honesty._

_Like pressing down the keys on a piano, Junmyeon adjusted the threads in the hall. "You know", The Chain spoke up. "I will never understand how you utilize these things. Aren't they unhandy?"_

_The traitor lifted up his mouth's corner. "Everyone has their unique spots. Don't they, Chanyeol?"_

_"Ah, you are right", the taller confirmed as he suddenly appeared behind Agma._

_He could dodge his opponent’s daggers by a hair's length and jumped off the high ground. "H-how?" the Seer stuttered, his voice oddly different._

_Chanyeol clicked with his tongue, squatting down as he looked to the person below. "Oh, King, old habits don't die, don't they?"_

_A smug smile painted his lips as he saw the King realize he's been showing a significant trait of his: the ring he's always carrying and the all-known pet peeve to play with it in his hand._

_"It was impossible Agma's here already", Junmyeon knowingly yelled through the hall. "Because he just entered from behind as he was in town to carry out orders."_

_"How did you find out?" the real Seer grumbled from behind, ice flowers drawing across the floor and up the door._

_"How did you – or rather the whole Royal Palast – find out about our infiltration?" the other mischievously asked back._

_"We have our methods."_

_"Well, then, we do, too", the traitor shrugged. "Ah, and, you might not want to step forward Ag – Wait, what are you doing?!"_

_The Seer reached forward and touched the strings, ice creeping up on them, revealing the now crystal web spun across the hall. Junmyeon unwound the threads around his finger tips and cut them from the ice that already had its icy touch on his fingertips. Quickly he turned around and cautiously jumped back. Agma snapped with his fingers and crystals were raining from above, clirring on the marble floor._

_The brown haired abruptly extended his arms, shock suddenly running through his veins. "Fuck", he cursed. "I'm out of strings."_

_He went further back, trying to keep a great distance between him and the approaching Seer. "Chanyeol, there's no time!"_

_Stopped from his mocking, he jumped down on the King, but instead of hitting him he pierced into the flesh of a guard's arm who's wrapped it around the royal for protection. The Joker though showed no mercy and ripped out his daggers violently. The guard's arm was cut off, falling to the ground with a dull thump. Too shocked to even scream, the guard held his stump and broke down, granting the red haired to sheath his sharp weapons into the King's neck. He didn't try to resist, accepted his fate and fell into his former lifeguard's arms._

_Even though Chanyeol's intention was to kill, he put down the fallen King and bowed before him. "Thank you for what you have made of us, believed in us, but now there's someone who's worth this sacrifice."_

_As he stood up straightly again, a loud gasp echoed from behind. The traitor attempted to turn around, but the blood in his veins cramped up, his muscles sore. Light steps resounded on the marble floor._

_Frightened, Chanyeol could rip open his mouth just like that and scream: “Junmyeon?” He didn’t receive an answer, so again he yelled, but nothing._

_The brown haired slowly looked down to his chest, his hands wrapped tightly around the spear that split off a part of his heart, shattered on the floor. His breathing was heavy, gagging on his blood as he tried to gasp for air. He felt his surroundings darken, his ears falling deaf. Junmyeon was released from the sharp blade as the person behind him ripped it out. With blood still streaming severely, the traitor fell in the puddle below him, covering his white coat in a deep, burning red._

_His partner continued to scream, especially as Agma stepped into his line of sight._

_“Junmyeon!”_

_“Junmyeon!”_

_“Junm – “_

The brown haired shrieked up, clutching his chest. His heart was beating furiously. Junmyeon looked around and eyed the clock on the night desk, holding his forehead. It was past 2am. He figured he had a nightmare from the past once again and tried to simply shrug it off. Awoken by the shock that was still lingering in his bones, he brushed the blanket aside and got up from the cozy mattress. The brown haired shuffled out of the bedroom and wandered past the door frame he used to support his weak legs, the right arm wrapped around his stomach.

Mindlessly Junmyeon sat down in front of the monitors corss-legged and typed in his access data. He mustered the nine screens and wildly tapped on his keyboard. He was close to break down the firewalls of a department in the government. He wasn’t quite sure what it exactly is for, since he was only confronted with it on one or two orders, but he figured it had to have information no one should be able to access except for authorized personnel.

But no one was safe from the brown haired’s fangs, from his web he spun tightly around his targets. To the system the young man was no one, a faceless person. He was discovered by the former King at a very young age, who has shown his benevolence towards the younger back then as he tried to break down a network of banks.

Junmyeon was born poor, both his parents died as the Law of Decimation was set into motion. It wasn’t as violent as it is now, but expecting Heartless to not fight back is a foolish thought. He never got to know how they were taken from him.

Since the hacking incident, the brown haired continued to never be noticed. His fast tapping and typing went unheard, his mouth sealed and hiding spot disguising him – up until now. The screens in front were flickering and abruptly went black.

A red bar blinked in the top left and words started to appear. “Virus discovered. System shut down in 10 seconds to prevent memory loss.”

“Fuck”, Junmyeon cursed, wildly typing in commands, but they were all rejected. It had crucial effects on the computer.

A new red bar blinked up below the text from before, the timer stopped. “Starting deleting process, percent of currently deleted data: 12%.”

“What? No, no, no, no, no!”

The brown haired smashed on the keyboard, trying to stop the deleting process. Suddenly, pain erupted from his stomach and he lost focus as he fell forward, vomiting on the ground. Barely able to move, Junmyeon reached forward to the plug of his computer. He fell off his chair and crawled forward with one arm. Just like that he could grab the plug and forcefully rip it out of the socket.

Before the power went off, with a last glimpse the brown haired looked up to his monitors and read “76% percent” on the screens. “God damn it”, he cursed.

“Hey, Doc”, Junmyeon said, smiling as he came down the stairs. His shirt barely buttoned up and his jacket thrown over nonchalantly.

Yixing looked behind and put down the pill in his hand into the huge jar in front. “Junmyeon, have you lost your mind?” he exclaimed. “How did you get in here?”

The other only winked and laughed a little. He broke down to his knees and threw a pleading gaze to his friend, who already hurried over to help the older up. He lifted up his shirt.

“Mind taking a look?”

The Seer’s eyes widened in shock. He mustered the dark violet marks on Junmyeon’s stomach, the blue bruises and bone fractures bumping out. Yixing wrapped the other’s free arm around his shoulders and supported him by tightly grabbing around his waist. Without hesitation he shoved down his research folders and papers down to the ground to lie down the brown haired carefully. He ripped open Junmyeon’s shirt and drove over the marks gingerly.

“How didn’t you notice?” Yixing cried, frowning. 

The other lightly moved his head to the left, facing his friend. “When I lost this piece”, he started to answer, tapping on the scar on his chest. “I also lost part of my emotions. They either get mixed up or disappear for quite a while.”

The Seer gnashed his teeth. “I’m sorry.”

“You did what you could back then, Yixing”, the brown haired comforted the younger, patting his hand.

The Chinese man shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts and looked into Junmyeon’s eyes. “I can fix this without any problems.”

Without any other exchange Yixing’s hands glowed up and circled over the other’s stomach. He felt the warmth flowing from his friend’s hands directly into his own body, easing his muscles, taking any tension and mending the pain. His blood rushed hotly through his veins. Small cracking was heard as the bone fractures reattached to his ribs, the dark colors on his gut fading.

Junmyeon closed his eyes, shutting out everything around him except for the warmth of the Seer that came directly from his heart. It was soothing and relieving. Like a melody pleasing his ears, a protective power ran through every vessel, every muscle, and every synapse.

As Yixing took away his hands, the other looked up and put on a thankful smile. He sat up and eyed the younger next to him. “Shouldn’t you be asleep already?” the brown haired winked.

“I’m not a child anymore, you old man”, the Seer joked, hitting his friend’s shoulder lightly. “Also, I have been working.”

“Working?”

“Yeah”, Yixing confirmed. “Come over here, I’ll show it to you.”

Like he was asked Junmyeon got up and followed his friend closely to the research table at the end of the labor. On the way he properly buttoned up his shirt and stuffed it inside of his pants, tightening them with a belt. He stood behind the other now who was swiftly drawing forth a similar jar he’s seen before and peeked over his shoulder.

The brown haired raised an eyebrow and asked: “You have been working on…pills?”

The Chinese man nodded, corroborating. “These pills are still prototypes, but due to my research they should hold the ability to heal.”

“Heal what?”

“Everything I can heal, diseases and wounds to a certain extent, broken bones and fractures.”

Junmyeon’s eyebrow only rose higher. “How is that?”

The other opened the jar and took out a pill, holding it up into the light. Small globules were inside of the round pill. “I figured that a Seer’s powers might be held in their DNA once branded by the Goddess, which was proven to be true by my own investigation”, Yixing started to explain. “I tried out various things to make my DNA viable for another body to temporarily have the same effect of healing like it has on mine.”

“I extracted and extracted, used every syringe and substance I had until these came out.”

“I’m glad you spared me with the technical terms”, the brown haired lightly joked. “Do they work though?”

“I hope so.”

Without further notice Junmyeon slung his arms around his friend’s waist and pulled the taller tight to his own body. Startled and blushing, Yixing lost his balance a bit, but was caught in the other’s arms, helping him get up again.

He calmly spoke to the Chinese with a mellow voice. “Thank you, Yixing. For everything you have done and will do. You make the world a better place.”

Knowing what Junmyeon was speaking of, small pearly tears fell down Yixing’s puffy cheeks. He quickly wiped over his eyes and sniffled. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more back then. I should’ve been able to restore your heart, I should have – “

“Hey, now”, the other shushed him. “As I said, you have done everything you could. And I haven’t thanked you properly in all these years. You helped – no, you are still helping. Not only me, but the person I even risked my life for.”

“Even though I knew I was protected by law, they still could have killed me under different occasions to avoid a punishment”, Junmyeon explained. “And you as well risked your life by helping me back then, I’ll never forget that.”

“Thank you, hyung”, the other sobbed, caressing the other’s arm around his waist with his thumb. “Thank you for being the hero I wished to grow up to be, for being there for me when no one else could.”

_The traitor groaned and spit out the blood that was collecting in his mouth. He propped up on his arms and crawled forward as he heard Agma’s and the Chain’s steps distanced from him. He figured they’d be going after Chanyeol now. They couldn’t possibly kill him, could they? No, Junmyeon shook his head, this was clearly impossible._

_With cramped movements the Spider could reach for the last few strings that were spared by the Seer’s ice and spun them around his finger tips. A weak push forward into the void attached one of the threads to the wall outside and with all his power left Junmyeon pulled himself over and out of the room, standing on his shaky legs, the blood loss scratching on his consciousness._

_He held his body up by leaning against the wall as he walked down the long hallway, his vision going darker and darker, but suddenly a faint voice reached his deafened ears. The traitor looked up and saw a young boy with black running up to him, repeatedly yelling his name._

_“Hey, hey, hey”, the smaller continuously repeated. “Don’t die on me!”_

_He slung his left arm around the other’s waist and put his around his own shoulders, keeping him up on his feet. With all his might he dragged the former guard further down the hallway until he stopped at a random wall and pressed down on a hidden button, disguised as a simple, shining marble septum._

_A narrow door flicked open and granted access to the underground where the young boy’s labor was located. Mindless he swiped off all the papers on the first table he saw and laid Junmyeon down on it. He ripped open the blood-covered white coat and the underlying uniform. Panicking at the depth of the wound Yixing unintentionally held his hands over the other’s chest._

_Seeing the wound not close made the black haired fall in despair. The broken-off shard of his friend’s heart added up to that. Shaky hands reached his face, groping._

_“Yixing?” Junmyeon weakly asked._

_“Yes”, the other answered. “Yes, it’s me.”_

_The older limply smiled. “I’m g…glad.”_

_Yixing looked down to the chest again and concentrated on giving his all, his hands starting to glow up in a great light, yet they only stopped the bleeding. Hurriedly he ran over to the metal research table and snatched off a syringe and rammed it into the other’s arm. The smaller’s eyes were watery as his worry kicked in._

_“This will help you recover”, he explained. “I’m too weak, Junmyeon, too weak to even help my closest friend.”_

_“Yet you didn’t leave me hanging. I’m glad you found me.”_

_Wrapping his friend’s chest in bandages, the Chinese boy sobbed and constantly caressed the other’s plump cheeks. Figuring that the medicine kicked in already, he helped Junmyeon up and held him tightly._

_“You have to go, right?” the smaller knowingly asked._

_Still in pain the traitor nodded, winking. “I’ll be back before you can blink, promise.”_

 

\-----------

 

Baekhyun rolled around in his bed as the sunrays hit his face, directly shining into his eyes. Grumbling he pulled the blanket over his face and refused to even open one lid, but gave in to his awoken self from inside. Strangely though, he didn’t wake up having this radiating void inside of his chest. Instead, he had a quite bright smile hanging off his lips. The black haired turned to clock on his night desk and read the digits blinking in a weak red light.

“Just past 12am, it must be Saturday”, he joked to himself.

The young boy jumped up and out of his bed, his oversized shirt looking like a dress as it covered his sloppy underwear. He swept off his phone from the night table and lit up the screen as he went into the bathroom. Baekhyun wet his toothbrush and applied toothpaste to it and started brushing his teeth thoroughly, looking at his unlocked phone and searching for his contacts. Right as he wanted to make a call himself, one from Kyungsoo got through and the black haired answered the phone muffling with the toothbrush in his mouth.

“Am I disturbing you?” the smaller asked on the other line.

“No, not at all, just brushing my teeth”, the other answered, hardly speaking clearly. “’Sup?”

“I just thought I’d pick you up today.”

“Sounds great! When?”

Kyungsoo played with his lips and shyly replied: “I’m actually in front of the door.”

“Oh”, Baekhyun exclaimed. “Give me a second.”

The black haired spit out the toothpaste in his mouth, took the next towel to wipe his lips clean and leaped over into his bedroom, ripping open the closet in front. He took the next pullover and pants he could get his hands on and striped it over. B jumped into his socks while rushing to the front door to slip into his black leather boots. He swiftly pulled his jacket down the clothes racket and put it over his shoulders.

Baekhyun reached for the doorknob and turned it around to the left, opening it to meet a squishy face, adorned with heart-shaped lips, glasses with a wide black brim and thrown back hair in the same color. His friend’s mouth lit up in a smile as he held up a small paper bag and 2 beverages resting drink holder.

“I bought you coffee and a chocolate croissant!” Kyungsoo happily said, handing over the bag.

Confused the other looked down to the food offered to him and tilted his head to the right, looking at his friend with a raised eyebrow. Even though his stomach was prickling he still questioned the other’s actions.

“Why?” he plainly asked, going ahead with the bag in his one hand and the paper mug in the other. The black haired went down the stairs and pushed open the door.

The other kept smiling, following behind closely as he opened his mouth. “Well, you looked quite happy yesterday, so I thought I’d pick you up the same. Also, you owe me a visit at the restaurant.”

Chuckling, Baekhyun broke the croissant in half and the creamy chocolate streamed out over the soft pastry. He gave the other half to his friend and clinked their halves like they are having a drink. The other was right, it really did make him happy. They walked down the main street together and were silent for a while until the taller asked the black haired about his day.

“My day?” Kyungsoo asked with a surprised face. “I have been busy with investigating.”

“Investigating?”

The smaller nodded. “A corpse was found in an abandoned factory this night. He was a core person in the Royal Palace and government.”

“What was he in charge of?” the other knowingly asked.

“I don’t really know, it’s confidential information I have no access to.”

“Any suspects?”

Normally, Baekhyun would start to drop slight hints for his friend like he did before, but today, he didn’t feel like it. Not at all. He didn’t feel like playing around with the mind of his friend like this like he did in the past. Before the black haired started going for the big fish he started at 0, police officers and detectives, bankers, hackers even and business men. So many lost their hearts and were executed due to B’s actions. B, the killer with no face, but an infamous reputation.

“Not really”, Kyungsoo answered, nibbling on his bottom lip. “We are of course suspecting B again, but we have no evidence leading to him.”

The taller flushed down the last bit of his croissant with the last sip of coffee in his mug which he threw into the next trashcan he saw. He patted his friend’s back and encouragingly answered: “I’m sure you’ll find the culprit! I’m rooting for you.”

A little flustered, the other smiled brightly. Oddly Baekhyun has been different today, he figured, but didn’t mind it greatly. Somehow, it felt warmer around him than usual. It feels a little bit like he’s become a different person over night, but little does Kyungsoo know that his friend is wanted by not only the police but the government, the Royal Council and King. He’s wanted by the whole country, a destiny of being beheaded once caught already written for him.

Further down the road the two friends reached the core of Seoul, red and blue lights flashing before them. A horde of police offers was guarding the sidewalks and guided a rush of hundreds of people through small, narrow gates, blinking up in green and red lights depending on the person that walked through.

Cautiously Baekhyun and Kyungsoo went ahead, bypassing the police men on their way, hoping they can go by unnoticed. The taller eyed the numerous Heartkeepers being lead through the gates and once a red light flashed up over one of them, they were immediately shocked with electricity through the staffs that were viciously hit on their necks. It left dark red marks and even burns. The people weren’t even flinching. That was only now B figured it was an –

“Open execution!” a police officer next to the two friends exclaimed. He pointed to Baekhyun and called him over. “You, go through here.”

The taller was roughly packed by his arm and dragged to one of the gates, still radiating in a light green above. Knowing the outcome the black haired started to tremble. He knew this day would come when his identity was discovered. Having a heart at the moment or not, it’s artificial, it only works like a real one. Slowly he looked back behind to the smaller and just prayed he’d take off his eyes before B was pushed through the gateway.

With a blink of an eye, Kyungsoo stepped in front of Baekhyun and tried to mountain up as well as he could considering his size. He looked up to the much taller police officer with a furious gaze, serving as intimidation. He reached into his jacket’s pocket and pulled out a rectangle-shaped leather badge with a golden coat of arms.

“RPD”, the smaller spoke up with an aggressive undertone. “He belongs to me.”

The man in front of him raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Aren’t you a little too young to have this? From whom did you steal this?”

Wordless Kyungsoo flicked open the badge to reveal the personal information inside and as soon as the officer read the smaller’s name his eyes got glued to it and the once so serious, mocking voice turned to a small stutter. “I-I am v-very sorry, Mr. Do. Your friend is free to go!”

The black haired took his friend by the hand and guided him away from the man that had called him over. With a shy smile Kyungsoo looked up to Baekhyun, a little embarrassed by how serious his reaction was. A little confused the taller raised his eyebrows and wondered, wondered why anyone would step up for him. Only now he just realized, looking into his friend’s eyes, that the smaller indeed deserves the title of a friend. His assumptions were right all along, Kyungsoo would do everything he has in his hands to protect Baekhyun, even though he hasn’t done much just now. Especially, he’d make sure that his own assumptions about the taller are wrong. Just like Jongdae he hopes he hopes their friend is involved in none of the recent events.

“So this is what friendship feels like”, B whispered to himself, his gaze still fixed on the other’s eyes.

_Coughing Chanyeol woke up in a small room, the walls made of dark grey bricks and only a small window letting through weak sunlight from outside. The dust was visually floating in the air and made breathing oddly uncomfortable. Looking up, the taller noticed he’s hanging off a wall, robust and hard chains holding him up. His arms felt sore, the back of his head hurting, ripped short grey pants only covering his lower body._

_The red haired weakly looked up, his vision blurred. He made out metal grids on his right, closing a possible way outside. Like it was even possible to even try and flee, Chanyeol was immobilized not only through the chains, but the dizziness flickering in his head, his feeble muscles and powerless will to even attempt an escape._

_A quiet rattle from his right echoed through the small room he was held captive in. The chains holding the taller up were loosened and he felt to his knees, but was roughly pulled up again. A firm grip around his arms was boring a red mark into his skin. With shaky legs Chanyeol tried to keep his pace as fast as the guard’s, failed though at each attempt. The energy that was normally cycling through his body was completely drained; it almost felt like he was only an empty shell left behind to rot._

_The taller though knew what he did and he still didn’t regret an ounce. He has followed his heart and now draws the consequences from it, whatever they may be. A death sentence though sounded very tempting to experience, taking him out of any misery that could overrun him._

_As they reached the end of the seemingly endless corridor, a door was pushed open, flooding Chanyeol’s eyes with a bright, burning light. He figured he has been in the dark for quite a while. His vision cleared up rather fast and revealed a courtroom to him, 3 people seated on higher ground above the defendant’s place the red haired was brought to._

_“Park Chanyeol”, Agma spoke up from the high seat. “Codenamed ‘The Joker’, former lifeguard of the now fallen King, you are accused of not only murder on the King, but treachery as you have broken the oath you have sworn to follow by.”_

_“Hereby we’d sentence you to death”, Chat continued. “But the deceased King’s law is still protecting you and it’d cost our own life to kill you.”_

_The third person followed: “And since your loyalty has only been questioned now, we believe you won’t commit another misdeed, you are sentenced to serve the Royal Council, the former Circle of Six who now is the Circle of Seven and the Korean Government in any way we see fit.”_

_Their loud voices were raining down on the red haired like missiles. They were incredibly deafening. He didn’t want a sentence like this, he was unpleased, his inner flame outraged by this decision. Not even knowing if his partner is still alive, he didn’t try to live on. He was the last grasp he seemed to have, but a face appearing in front of him in his inner eye begged to differ._

“Did you understand this, Mr. Park?” Agma asked for clarification.

The red haired just nodded lowly and accepted the task given to him. He had no other choice and pulled down the lever. Praying for forgiveness now wouldn’t help.


	4. Chapter 4

Baekhyun ripped open his eyes, all fours stretched from him. He stared up to the ceiling and eyed the chandelier tangling from the high ceiling. The room was barely illuminated and just a few weak sunrays reaching through the thick grey clouds above, reflected on the black metal. Actually the black haired would have woken up being startled, but in fact, there was nothing. Nothing in his chest that could make him jump up, breathe unevenly and heavy. Only the rotating, endless void that filled the place where a heart beat for some time.

The young man drove through his disheveled hair and held his forehead, sitting up straight on the brim of his bed. A weird sting ran through his chest, seemingly sparking from the black, shiny lock. Cautiously Baekhyun lightly tapped on it with his long fingers – nothing. Rather, how did he feel that he was hurting? B didn’t mind further thoughts to it and lifted himself up to wash up.

“Ah”, he monotonously exclaimed. “I’m supposed to tell Yixing about this.”

Shuffling the black haired turned around on his heels and left the bathroom again to pick up his mobile on the night desk next to the bed. He drew a muster to unlock it and quick-dialed the brown haired’s number. It rang a few times, but eventually a tired voice picked up.

“Baekhyun?” he asked. “Did something happen?”

Unconsciously nodding, Baekhyun replied. “Yeah. I’m calling because of the heart.”

“The heart?”

“I was supposed to tell you when the effect wore off, wasn’t I?”

Yixing hummed. A clink of glasses was heard in the background as he set down something. “I know it’s early, but can you come over?”

“I’m surprised myself I’m already awake”, the black haired replied, shrugging. “But yeah, I’m practically on my way already.”

The young man threw his phone on the bed to his right and went ahead to grab clothes out of his wardrobe, an oversized black hoodie, black pants and the boots from outside – nothing unusual. He went past the piano and stared at it with a fixed gaze. Softly he brushed over the keys that had a thin layer of dust resting on their surface. Attracted to the idea of just playing a bit, he only pressed down the first few notes to a sonata Chanyeol had taught him shortly after he and Junmyeon decided to pick the young Baekhyun up from the streets. If he had felt back then he’d name it the best day of his life, the best he ever had. Unconsciously the memory elicited a small smile on his lips.

_“Look, you have to press the keys like this”, the red haired explained, having spread his fingers oddly on the piano._

_Baekhyun loudly sighed. “Hyung, this is hard. It cramps up my fingers.”_

_“Being an artist doesn’t come without being in pain.”_

_“I’m not an artist!”_

_“I’ll make you one”, Chanyeol chuckled. “Also, you are quite good at acting.”_

_The taller looked down to the teenager next to him who looked at him with a tired expression. His black hair was all messy; his mouth’s corners hanging down motionlessly and a black hole in his eyes. Even though everything pointed to the state of nothingness inside of the young boy, Chanyeol smiled brightly. He first refused to pick him up, but now he has been convinced that it would have been the wrong decision. With a light pat on Baekhyun’s shoulder the taller stood up from the stool and left the younger to practice alone._

_“Hey, uhm, Baekhyun”, Chanyeol spoke up from the clothes hook. “I’ll be out for a bit, Junmyeon is soon coming, so don’t worry.”_

_The black haired nodded, focusing on the keys below. “Be careful, it’s dark outside.”_

_Chanyeol waved him off and shut the door behind him as he swung his jacked around his shoulders. He went down the small staircase in front of the house and headed uphill. With his lanky legs and wide steps he shuffled through the green grass glowing bluish in the night’s light. The taller approached someone he saw standing tall on a hill and laced his hands on his eyes._

_“Guess who I am”, the red haired hummed in a mellow voice._

_The black haired didn’t shriek up or searched for an escape. He knew who was coming, so he carefully put his own hands on the other’s and guided them down around his neck to be embraced in a tight hug._

_Chuckling Sehun leaned on the taller’s shoulder and kissed his cheek. “Playful as ever.”_

_A bright smile stretched across Chanyeol’s face as he mustered the beautiful almond-shaped eyes, the pink and red plump lips and the sharp jawline. Slowly they sunk to the soft green bed below and sat down, that taller’s arms laced around the other’s hips. Their heads were snuggled up closely, the black haired resting on his boyfriend’s shoulder._

_“I missed you”, the red haired whispered. “I’m sorry I cannot see you during daytime.”_

_Sehun caressed the other’s thigh and gave it a reassuring pat. “It’s alright, as long as I see you once. I know you are busy.”_

_A light kiss was planted on his forehead as he took Chanyeol’s hands and laced their fingers together. The taller reached into the pocket of his oversized polyester jacket and pulled out a lollipop. With crackling noises he unwrapped the plastic around the top and put the fruity, sweet candy into his boyfriend’s mouth._

_The other jolted up in happiness as he felt the refreshing taste on his tongue. “Strawberry!” he exclaimed._

_“Your favorite.”_

_“My favorite, indeed.”_

_Stargazing up the black haired’s eyes trailed over the sparkling night sky. He stretched out his free arm, pointing at the stars radiating above and the big white orb reflecting the day’s light. “The moon is beautiful tonight, don’t you think?”_

_The red haired huffed, a light chuckle underlying. “Yes, indeed. Just as beautiful as you”, he answered, slowly putting on a ring on the other’s hand without wanting to go for a big proposal._

_Sehun fell silent for a bit and looked up to his boyfriend, frowning as he has noticed the ring that was stuck on his finger. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, a light smile stretching across his lips._

_With his gaze fixed on the moon, Chanyeol simply answered: “Oh Sehun, will you, under this beautifully glowing moon, accept my proposal and marry me?”_

_A bit surprised by the sudden question, the black haired looked up to the moon tangling above and pressed his boyfriend’s hand tightly. “Of course I will. I have in my past life, I will in this life and will in my future life.”_

_“May our hearts never be apart”, the red haired said, a little bit surprised afterwards by his own cheesiness._

Cautiously Baekhyun walked down the staircase, past the guards around the palace. He came down to Yixing’s labor and knocked on the stone walls.

“Knock, knock”, he said.

The other looked up from the test tubes in front of him and turned around in the stool he was sitting on. Wordlessly he waved his hand to call his friend over, who in response stepped closer to the doctor aspiring to create a much better heart than before as it seems. That’s how much Baekhyun could figure from looking at the disastrous labor.

Slowly the black haired leaned forward and looked at the red fluid being filled in the vessel. It hardened once it came in touch with the transparent, crystal-like organ.

“You have worked hard, huh?”

Yixing nodded. “I looked out for what you said to me, but I wasn’t really able to change anything. “

His friend tilted the head to the left. “So it’s basically the same?” he asked.

“I worked on the heart’s life span, it should endure more.”

Baekhyun swiftly turned and plumped down on a stool close to the metal table the other was working on. He rolled over and examined the replica.

“May I ask you a question?”

The Chinese man nodded. “Go ahead.”

B crossed his legs and propped up his arms on them. He locked his fingers so he could rest his chin on them. “Why exactly did you choose me?”

Thinking about it, Yixing had to blush a bit. He looked into his friend’s empty eyes and answered plainly with strong meaning behind his words. “You’re something special, to put it simply.”

The black haired lightly chuckled and accepted the given answer, considering it as enough as of now.

Wordlessly he pulled up his black hoodie and exposes his pale chest, the black lock’s even and polished surface glittering in the labor’s light. He fished out a black key and let it form, sticking it in as soon as the small pillars stopped moving. “You are free to put it in now.”

Yixing nodded and carefully took up the crystal organ. He gently set in the heart after he opened the small door on his friend’s chest. Once the strings inside attached and the protein cover started blossoming he shut the door again, waiting for the outbreak Baekhyun had experienced the last time. To both their surprise though, it didn’t occur.

A little shocked they looked into each other’s eyes and put on a wondering expression. “It isn’t going crazy this time?” B questioned, looking at his still exposed chest.

The huge rectangle smile stretching across Baekhyun’s face bubbled up a prickling, warm feeling inside of Yixing, forcing him to smile subconsciously.

\-----------

Lazily Junmyeon pushed in the keys to his flat’s door and opened it with a light push. As he closed the door he could directly look at the blinking monitors in front. Wait – _blinking?_

Shocked the brown haired rushed to the keyboard and lit up screens. He shoved the chair to the side and slammed his hands on the white table. With a fixed gaze he carefully read through what the pixels showed to him.

“Uploading deleted data”, he quietly spoke to himself, but turned to scream it out again. “This shit must be fucking kidding me. How could it turn on ag – “

Like a lightning strike it hit him. The God program.

“Aranea”, he yelled. “Can you still hear me?”

A female, echoing voice answered Junmyeon. “Master, I’m sorry.”

“Did you use the energy resources to reboot?” The young man’s tone was serious, stress underlying his words.

“I did. I thought it was a mere virus, but it contained another AI I wasn’t capable of getting rid of. I once again apologize.”

“Data report.”

“All files have been deleted and are being restored on another system.”

“Where?” Junmyeon yelled. “Can you make out the location?”

“A firewall is blocking me”, the program started to explain. “But I narrowed down the area. It seems to be close to the palace.”

The brown haired slammed his fist on the clean table and ripped down his keyboard. “Shit”, he vocally cursed.

While he sprinted to his bedroom to pick up an USB he swiftly swept off his phone from the table and dialed a number. As it rang he stuck the drive into his PC. The ringing stopped and the phone was picked up at the other end. To Junmyeon’s bad luck it was the mailbox.

“This is the mailbox of Baekhyun, please leave a message or – “

He slammed his phone down to the ground and let out a distressed scream. The young man turned to his computer again.

“Aranea, are you still stable?” he asked, worried.

The female voice clearly answered, no technical interruptions. “Yes. I could keep it off of me.”

“I want you to move yourself to the USB I plugged in”, Junmyeon demanded as he jumped into his sneakers and set in the spindles on the devices around his arms. To cover it up he threw over a simple coat.

He stormed outside of his flat in a great pace.

\-----------

The light merely broke through the thick, blue curtains, the room remaining in almost complete darkness. The only light was provided by the small lamp on the desk where Kyungsoo was hovering over opened folders and endless papers.

A draw from the cigarette held between his index and middle finger let him inhale the stress he had gathered overworking on these files. Each breath he let out was ought to relieve him from the heavy wait on his chest, but the toxin only added to it. Though, it stimulated his nerves, he felt at ease.

The black haired tapped the butt lightly and let the ashes just fall to the carpeted floor, on top of the countless cigarette butts. All left were their remnants, soot and the task of cleaning it up.

Studying the files, Kyungsoo held up his head by supporting his forehead with his left hand. He scanned the entries, laid them out and circled connections, but especially those connections threw him off.

“This doesn’t make sense”, he huffed. He took another draw from his cigarette, ashes to the ground.

A pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind tightly. “What doesn’t make sense?” the person behind him spoke up.

Shortly the black haired tensed up but as he heard the voice his muscles eased. He took the last draw of the cigarette in his hand and disposed of it by nonchalantly dropping it to the ground.

With a thin cloud of smoke leaving his mouth Kyungsoo answered the other. “When did you come in, Jongdae?” He laid back his head and looked up to his friend, a cat smile on his lips.

“Just now. I brought you some donuts!” he said as he held up a paper bag with faint spots of shortening.

The black haired sighed and got up, breaking the light hug he was embraced in. He turned, walked a few steps past his friend and let himself fall face on into the cushions of his sofa.

“No donuts?”

Kyungsoo muffled a grunt.

The brown haired shrugged. “Well, alright. More for me then.”

He went over to the sofa and lifted up the other’s legs, putting them down on his lap again as he sat down on the soft furniture. The crinkling of the paper bag made Kyungsoo turn around and look up to the glowing stars above.

“You know what I don’t understand?” the younger spoke up. His long black hair was all spread out on the pillow his head was resting on.

Taking a bite from the donut in his hand, Jongdae turned to look to the left. “What is it?”

A flicking with his fingers followed by pointing at the pack with his index finger signalized the brown haired to hand one over. He put aside the bag of donuts and reached for it, attempting to take a cigarette out. He was stopped by the other though as soon as he touched the first roll.

“The whole pack.”

Frowning Jongdae picked it up but gave it to his friend with a slight feeling of malaise. “You shouldn’t smoke that much, Kyungsoo”, he commented as he let loose of the pack. “I know you only do it when you are stressed, but isn’t this a bit too much for you?”

Lighting a cigarette with the lighter he pulled out of his pocket, the other completely dismissed his friend’s worry. The brown haired huffed in response, snapping the other’s calf.

“When Wu was shot”, Kyungsoo started off. He exhaled a huge cloud of smoke, as thick as fog. “He didn’t resist.”

The brown haired wagged with his hand, clearing his view and trying to get rid of the smell. “How do you know?”

“The shot was from close distance and too clean.”

Jongdae raised an eyebrow. “You’re talking in riddles.”

“Let me put it differently”, the black haired said as he dropped the ash to the ground. “Would you not resist when someone tries to shoot you?”

“I would give it my all to flee, to be honest.”

“Exactly. But he remained at the same spot when the weapon was held against his head”, the other explained. “You could argue that he was too injured already to move, but in a situation where you need to survive adrenaline would kick in and ease the pain. Which leads me to the conclusion that he didn’t really have a desire to live, to survive.”

“Which raises the question…” Jongdae started to think, trying to help out his stressed out friend. But he knew, Kyungsoo would know the answer before he could even raise the right question anyway.

With a draw on his cigarette the younger lifted his body up and looked into his friend’s eyes. While exhaling his smoke he took on the conversation again. “He knew he’d die there.”

What did Jongdae just say?

“I don’t know why he was so sure of it, but he accepted his fate. The other thing that bothers me though…”

“Hm?”

Again Kyungsoo let the ashes fall to the ground. “Why was he in an abandoned place like that anyways?”

The brown haired visibly shrugged. “I wouldn’t know”, he stated with a frown. “But maybe he had some business there?”

The younger thought for a moment and processed what the other just said. He went through the files in his head and after some time came across the autopsy pictures. Kyungsoo jumped up, his cigarette lazily stuck between his plump lips.

“Kyungsoo?”

He turned around with a picture in his hand he fished up from a pile of documents. “ _This._ Do you know what _this_ is?” The black haired was pointing to the mark on the victim’s neck.

“Not…really. A gang sign?”

The other sighed and plumped down on his chair. “Fuck…”

Jongdae stretched out his leg to nudge Kyungsoo’s side with his foot. “Shall we look into this?”

“What do you mean?”

A proud smile stretched across the brown haired’s face. “We go back there, you, me and Baekhyun!” he suggested.

The black haired’s expression went really dark and he declined the offer with a serious tone. “This is _not_ a game, Jongdae.”

“I know that”, Jongdae assured. “But I’m certain Baekhyun just wants to make you relax with your work like I do. So, let us help.”

The other eased and sagged down as he took in the brown haired’s words. Even though his mind was against it, his heart was contradicting. He agreed wordlessly eventually.

Both picked their phone and opened their group chat.

\-----------

Baekhyun went up the stairs to his flat, key swirling on his index finger and his lips whistling a soothing melody. Just before he reached his door a voice echoed from behind, yelling to not go any further. But right in this moment his flat’s door was ripped open and a SWAT team stormed out.

Armed to the head they pointed machine guns at Baekhyun and rapidly came closer. His mind came to a stop, body glued to the spot he was on. Was this the end now? Have they found out who he is, what he did?

If so, the black haired wouldn’t want to resist. He always supported justice, even if it needs to be obtained through injustice. What he was about to get was his righteous punishment. But something inside of him screamed – no, _begged_ for him to move. Inch by inch, getting away.

A cold shiver ran down his spine and the instinct to run boiled up in him, his heart and mind were caught up in an argument. A flick of fingers snapped him out of his thoughts. As reality crushed onto Baekhyun again, things didn’t seem that real anymore. Time had stopped.

Hastily he looked behind, spotting Junmyeon. He was halted in the midst of running and shouting something to warn the black haired. In front was the SWAT team, ready to shoot at Baekhyun when they noticed the slightest move.

“Time is…frozen?” the young man wondered. He was quick to notice everyone couldn’t move, except for him. He was neither stopped nor disabled.

A chuckle from his right reached his ears. He quickly turned around and noticed a man leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. His face was long and had round cheeks, his lips curvy and curled up corners. He was dressed in a buttoned up white shirt which had a black vest thrown over. His long, muscular legs were accompanied by tight dark pants. His blonde hair was short, bangs hanging down his forehead. On top was a hat resting with wide brim.

“My, my”, the man said. “You pretty much rode yourself into this shit alone, didn’t you?”

Baekhyun squinted. “Who…are you?”

“As you might have noticed, someone special.” He made a gesture to imply he had caused the current state the people around them were in.

“Why are you here?” the black haired bluntly asked, taking steps closer. “What did you do to them?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the man questioned, his jade green eyes glowing up. “Just like you said, time is frozen. I stopped their timelines.”

“Their…timelines? You have control over such a thing?”

The blond pointed up. “It comes with a limit though.”

Baekhyun looked into the direction the other stretched out his index finger to. He saw a golden hourglass floating in the air, the sand in it slowly flowing.

“Once the last corn falls, time will flow normally again”, the man explained. “So let me come straight to the point. I’m actually here to help you.”

B tilted his head and frowned. Help? Him? How did this person even know he’d be in trouble in the first place? He didn’t look that trustworthy as well. Cautiously the black haired took a step back, obviously showing mistrust.

“Before anything else”, he stated with a shakier voice. “I want a name.”

The blond shrugged and stood up straight. He extended his arm with slight machine noises. “You can call me Z for now.”

Waiting for a handshake he waved his hand to bring Baekhyun out of his skepticism, which indeed worked out eventually as the black haired reached for the offered hand and shook it.

“The plan looks like this”, the blond started to explain. “I’ll reverse time for all of you to 15 minutes before you walked up here. The SWAT team is actually just searching through your stuff, so they will leave like they came in: through the windows.”

“Sounds plausible, but…” Baekhyun faltered at the end of his sentence. “You want something in return, don’t you?”

“Your alliance.”                                                                                                                                                                          

“Alliance?” This was quite surprising for the young man if he was honest. “My alliance in which case?”

“You’ll see when we meet again.” The other smiled brightly and loosened their handshake.

The blond turned his back to B and held up his hand. “Until next time!”

Before Baekhyun could even speak up, he flicked with his fingers and the young man found himself in an alley not far from his home. Confused he looked around and recognized the young woman carrying a bunch of shopping bags from an expensive designer uptown.

Slowly the black haired stepped out and looked from left to right. He indeed was back in time – for 15 minutes at least. What made him sure he wasn’t certain of, but it definitely felt the same as it did before. 

B proceeded to walk the way back to his flat, looking at the clock of a shop next to him, another proof time had been reversed. It still wouldn’t really stick in his mind how this person was able to do something powerful like this. His control over time was limited, yet it is a powerful ability. Gladly the blond wasn’t hostile. Why was he helping Baekhyun in the first place anyways?

Immersed in his mind, a thought ran through his head. The black haired completely forgot about Junmyeon who is going to burst up the stairs to his flat. But as soon as he sped up he already encountered the other. He hurried and propped up on his knees panting.

“B-Baekhyun”, the brown haired exclaimed as he grasped for air. “Do not go in there.”

Without moving a single muscle the black haired replied. “I know.”

“What?” Junmyeon was perplexed by his friend’s reply.

“Long story short: I already know of the SWAT team in my flat. They are only searching through, not waiting for me.”

“Are you telling me…I came for nothing?”

Technically, yes. Baekhyun was quite sure the blond would still have appeared if Junmyeon wasn’t on his way to warn him.

The black haired answered with a shrug instead of saying what was on his mind. He helped his friend back on stable feet and together they went upstairs, examining the door to Baekhyun’s flat. It was closed, no rumbling behind. A cool breeze was tingling around their legs from the gap below. As the door opened with a slight creak the two friends found the flat in total chaos.

Clothes were scattered on the floor, piled up next to glass shards that had been bowls and glasses before. Broken off wood from the chairs, sofa and pillars was heartlessly broken off and thrown to the ground. B’s eyes trailed to the back of his flat as he discovered the piano, the piano which carried memories.

With fast steps Baekhyun hurried to the instrument. “No!” he yelled, his voice choked up and eyes glassy. He traced the broken wood’s fiber, its black glow on the surface fading. A tear dropped on one of the worn keys. The young man immediately wiped over the faint white until he reached the huge gap between the keys. “Why him?”

Seeing the state of his piano was equal to hurting Chanyeol for B. He clenched his fists, but didn’t dare to slam on the damaged instrument. He sniffled slightly and let himself down on the leathered piano chair. He carefully observed the missing parts and tried to piece they keys together, but it all was an act of desperation.

“Baekhyun?” it rang on his ears dully through the everlasting silence. “Are you alright?”

_Chanyeol stepped through the entrance with his lanky legs, fully packed with groceries on his arms. With a swift kick the door behind him fell shut and the keys were put next to the door in a small bowl. The tall man reeled into the kitchen and unloaded the weight onto the counter._

_“Baekhyun-ah”, the red haired whistled mirthfully. “I’m home!”_

_A mat of black hair peered around the corner and the dark eye pair mustered the loud man standing in the small kitchen. The scent which was spreading in the room was viciously sweet and penetrated the young boy’s nose immediately. It made him come closer to the other and study the bags._

_Baekhyun sniffed before moving his eyes up to Chanyeol. “Are these hotteok?”_

_The red haired rummaged through one of the bags only to pull out another smaller bag. “Yepp!” he proudly exclaimed. “I saw a man sell them on my way back and thought I’d get you some.”_

_If the young boy could, a smile would stretch across his face right now. He was aware that something inside of him moved him to crave these pancakes. He reckoned it was “liking” something, but wasn’t quite sure if it is an emotion and he was truly feeling something, which of course would be impossible, or if it is just a natural desire even Heartless can experience. And apparently he was also interested in Biology._

_Gladly Chanyeol handed over the bag and let the other look inside. The hot steam ascended and wetly laid down on his face, the sweet scent intensifying. Baekhyun though folded the bag again and put it on the counter. The red haired stared a little baffled._

_“D-don’t you want any?” he asked, sounding almost hurt. If not his eyes were a little glassy. Was his gesture not nice?_

_Baekhyun put on a smile for the other. “I do, but…” He paused and pointed at the piano, visible through the backdoor. “Can you first help me play again?”_

_The fire in Chanyeol’s heart was lit again. Even though he knew this smile was part of the acting Junmyeon and him have told the younger about, even though nothing he shows to feel is real, the smile on the red haired’s mouth couldn’t stop spreading. He was sure, deep inside, it wasn’t all a farce. Or…was it?_

_The taller dismissed his thoughts and took Baekhyun by the hand, guiding him to the polished instrument. Its shiny surface reflected the chandelier’s light from above._

_“Play for me”, the black haired asked._

_Wordlessly Chanyeol laid down his fingers on the keys softly. One by one he pressed them down and let a tranquil melody resound. Each note, each tone sunk deep into the younger’s mind as he closed his eyes. The red haired parted his soft lips and shaped the sound of his deep voice according to the song. The music smoothed the words and warmed up Baekhyun’s chest._

_He folded his hands and laid back his head, eyes still shut. He saw the moon brightly shining down on him. The lilac lavender was waving in the cold night breeze, painted in a slight dark blue as the darkness enveloped the landscape. Chanyeol’s song was floating in the air._

_The taller exhaled and ended the play. He turned to the black haired whom he shared the chair with and still wasn’t able to resist smiling. A warm feeling was tingling around his heart. Again he wondered how he was against taking Baekhyun in at first. How could he abandon him? Someone, despite not having a heart, who makes people smile – lights up their hearts._

_Chanyeol kept staring at the young boy for a while, still lost in his own world. “I really like him”, he thought. “I really do.”_

A cold hand laid down on Baekhyun’s shoulder. It made him look up, wiping the last tears from his soft and white cheek.

“Pack what you can find.” Junmyeon interrupted his friend’s thought trail. “I know a place where we can go.”

\-----------

“Are you alright?” A voice sounded behind Yixing. The young man turned around and spotted the Goddess with dark violet hair and fair skin, almost like porcelain.

Slowly the brown haired blinked and turned around in his stool again, propping up his arm to support his head. “You could say so.”

With slight rattling and light sounds of heels clacking, Cordea neared Yixing and sat down next to him on his working table. The rough leather gloves left a scratchy feeling on the young man’s plump cheek as the Goddess caressed it. She examined the other’s face and gently drove over his dark eye bags with her thumb.

“You are a horrible liar”, Cordea commented. “How long have you been working?”

The brown haired looked up to the divine being. Her expression was soft and caring, opposing to his own which was sagged and weak. A light smile stretched on his lips.

Yixing dismissed the Goddess’ concerns, wagging with his hand. “Only the results matter and I’m on a good way, Cordea.”

“Don’t overwork, young Seer.”

“Please, am I still a Seer after the path I chose?”

Cordea tilted her head. “Why shouldn’t you be? Are the others still Seers after the path they chose?”

“Treason isn’t of a pure heart in any sense”, Yixing argued. “The other six – five, I meant five, may be ruthless but they obey.”

“Doesn’t it depend on whose orders they obey?” the Goddess threw back, crossing her legs. “Each of you follows the path they have committed to. And it either benefits the King, me or you.”

The brown haired sighed. His head was humming from all the thinking he had done while working. “I’m not sure about the things I do, but…”

“But?”

“I think as long as it’s for him I can go on.”

The Goddess leaned forward and planted a warm kiss on the other’s forehead. “Worry not, destiny is tied to your success.”

\-----------

The loud marching on the gravel outside drew attention to Chanyeol. He looked at his shop’s door and saw a smaller man step in as the bell above rang. Two royal guards were close next to him, armed with lances and shields. They were fully dressed in black, their shoulder armor ornamented with raven feathers.

The man stepped forth with a small cube in his right. He hopped on the counter and crossed his legs. Carefully he placed the device and projected a holographic display.

The taller tilted his head and propped up on the counter. “Is there something wrong, Agma?” he asked casually but in a respectful voice.

“You know”, the Seer answered. “We have garnered quite interesting information.”

The masked man tapped on a few buttons with light beeps. A big picture of a man came up. Agma snapped against the projection and spun it to the red haired. His eyes glowed up as he looked at Chanyeol and stared deep into the other’s.

At the sight of the picture it was hard for the taller to suppress emotions. A cold shiver ran down his spine, his eyes widening. He tried to make his unsteady breath go unnoticed.

Agma pointed at the display. “Do you know who this boy is?”

“No”, the red haired plainly answered, shaking his head. “Should I?”

“I don’t know, should you?”

Chanyeol gulped. “I don’t think so.”

The smaller sighed and jumped down the counter. “He has ties to someone you know.” Agma snatched off the cube, the projection immediately shutting down.

“Someone _I_ know? I don’t know that many people. Speaking honestly, most of them I have neither seen nor was in touch with them for a long time.”

“It’s the Spider, Mr. Park.”

“ _What?”_ The red haired nearly leaped over the counter as he heard what the other said. “This is impossible.”

Agma shook his head. “He’s alive. A virus sucked this information out of his PC’s system.”

The taller was taken aback by the Seer’s words. He clutched his chest and tightly grabbed his t-shirt’s fabric, clenching his hand to a fist.

“That’s all I wanted to know, Mr. Park. Have a nice day.”

Chanyeol stumbled behind and stopped against the wall. He slid down the wood and roughly landed on the ground. With glassy eyes he looked up to the garish light of the chandelier tangling in the middle of the shop. The dark furniture made the dust flying in the air visible and to calm himself the tall man started to count each corn. Each one by one, but his thoughts were penetrated by the odd smile and round cheeks he came to treasure. The old clock ticked, time passing in slow motion for Chanyeol. He still couldn’t really grasp reality.

“He’s alive…”

\-----------

The uneven and rough tar elicited a loud and hammering noise of the small wheels that were attached on Junmyeon’s and Baekhyun’s luggage. Thick fog was embracing them, the black haired following his friend against his liking. Soon they arrived at an old factory. It wasn’t crumbling as much as the one they fought in but it came close. In front was a huge and rusty metal door. It seemed like the entrance to a garage.

With a tight grip Junmyeon wrapped his fingers around the handle and pulled the door up with creaking noises. Dust was swirling in the air as the mechanism locked in above. Both he and Baekhyun stepped in.

Oddly the inside was by far different from the outside. Pink, blue and even lilac neon lights lit up the enormously huge room, a big tank glowing in a light blue with various fish and mollusks, graffiti on each dark violet wall and a bunch of used tools rounded up the interior. And as it seemed, there were also fireflies buzzing around. Is there something Baekhyun hadn’t seen yet?

“Ya”, the brown haired yelled. “Mechanic.”

Just like whistling for a dog, a relatively small and thin man rolled up to them on a board on his back from a vehicle in white, adorned with glowing mint ornaments. It resembled a motorcycle, but it wasn’t quite what the black haired had already seen before. It was way too big and had a weird shape.

“Oho!” the man let out in a delighted tone while rolling closer. “If this ain’t my old pal Junmyeon!”

He got up and quickly swirled around. He had violet hair that ways styled up and had golden goggles with a star drawn across the left side sitting around his head. The man was covered in a glowing light blue overall which’s upper part was dangling down to his ankles. The strong pink tank top barely covered his chest and was loosely tucked into the lower part of the overall.

The violet haired pulled up his goggles and set them on his forehead, eventually exposing a babyish, young face completely. His cheeks were glowing and his yellow eyes sparkling. He played with the wrench in his right as he put all his attention to Junmyeon.

“Long time no see, my pal”, the man said with a smile.

The brown haired chuckled. “Long time no see, Luhan.”

Without longer ado they wrapped their arms around each other and hugged tightly. Luhan almost seemed like a child as he was too happy to resist smiling. B figured they have a lot of history together. But what exactly was their relation?

As they let go of each other the violet haired leaned over and looked at Baekhyun with wide, crazy eyes and an interested smile.

“Who do we have here?” he asked, rolling his eyes over to his friend.

Instead of waiting for an answer from Junmyeon, the black haired answered for himself with a slight bow. “I’m Byun Baekhyun.”

“Oho!” Again the delighted tone. “You’re the one who was taken under my pal’s wing, ain’t ya?”

“I guess so…”

Luhan devoted to his friend again. “Ain’t much of a talker, eh?” The brown haired shrugged.

“What brings ya to me?”

His friend’s expression faltered and he looked to the ground. Clenching his fist he answered with a passively angry voice. “We have been discovered.”

“Discovered?”

“The government emptied my whole system. Nothing left and all saved on their databases.”

Baekhyun unintentionally rubbed the other’s back to the surprise of both. He didn’t know what exactly drove him, but he just felt like it needed to be done – like a duty.

“Can we stay with you for a while?”

Luhan shook his head lightly. “This shouldn’t even be a question, pal. You’re always welcome.”

“The rooms are up there” he continued, pointing to a metal staircase in the far back. “You can settle in either of them there.”

While Junmyeon went ahead, the black haired stayed behind and mustered the mechanic’s work. He slowly neared the vehicle Luhan screwed on and neared his left to touch it. He was quickly halted though by the other’s odd way of talking.

“Oi, pal, we ain’t touching anything without permission in here”, he lightly went off. “Things might explode!”

Was he really only concerned about safety? B shook his head and let the words go through his head again. What did Luhan say again?

“Explode?” the black haired asked for confirmation.

The violet haired chuckled and put on a mad smile. “Well, maybe not this vehicle.” He tightened one last screw and got up to face the other. “But y’know, I’m a little…different as you might have noticed.”

The smile didn’t leave Luhan’s lips. It was practically glued onto him. His yellow eyes only emphasized the craziness that was slumbering deep inside. Like a spiral they caught you in their spell and sent you right to the darkest pit inside. The man was easy to read as Baekhyun figured, but this might be why he makes the black haired’s chest feels so tightly pressed together. Was he…scared?

The violet haired patted B’s shoulder with soft, veiny hands. “No need to fear me, pal. I ain’t gonna turn on ya.”

“I think I figured that already”, Baekhyun untruthfully answered. He was scared to his bones up until now. Luhan’s words calmed him down again.

The violet haired went over went over to the tool box on the old wooden table next to some wheels and wood splinters. He started rummaging, B fixing his whole attention to him. Everything about his man was waking sensation inside of him, his clothes and his colors – his presence.

“Say, pal”, Luhan started as he turned around with a screwdriver in his right. “Ya know my brother, right? The lanky lad with the red hair.”

B tilted his head. “Chanyeol?”

“Ye, that’s his name.”

Baekhyun needed a moment to process what he just heard but as soon as reality hit him, it crushed down on him. “What?” he exclaimed. “ _You_ are his brother?”

“Surprised?” Luhan wondered. “I thought we had the same craziness restin’ inside of us.”

As he mentioned it now, B as well realized that. Yet, their appearance was so much different. The only thing in common was their colorful hair. Nothing else matched. While Chanyeol was extremely tall and lanky, but strong, Luhan was of small built and seemed weak. The red haired only wears dark clothes but his brother is full-frontal a walking neon rainbow. But they were both silly.

“A little, honestly speaking” Baekhyun replied. How should I have known from first glance? You are nothing alike.”

Luhan smirked. “Partially true.”

“Meaning?”

“While he is more of a feeler, I ain’t doing much of this. Am more of a thinker, but not on the same level of Junmyeon.” He finished screwing in a screw, slid to the side and reached for a new one. “But we express ourselves similar.”

He mentioned explosions earlier, didn’t he? Worrisome? Definitely.

“Ever looked aroun’ his store and my workshop?”

Like a reflex Bakehyun scanned the surroundings again and noticed that, indeed, there were similarities. Through the masks it was colorful in Chanyeol’s gloomy mask store and without the colors in here Luhan’s workshop would be the same.

“Ye, exactly”, the other spoke up again. “It’s art. He likes to do masks while I’m grabbin’ brush, paint and sprayin’ cans to design.”

The black haired sighed, leaning against a red car without wheels. “You are a family, man.”

“Don’t touch!”

“S-sorry!”

\-----------

 

“Why isn’t he answering?” Jongdae whined loudly.

He leaned against the loose brick wall of the factory the incident Kyungsoo is investigating happened in. Only a light breeze blew around and kept the smaller’s tired eyes open as it danced on the skin of his arms.

“He seems busy”, the black haired answered. “We should just go in without him.”

Agreeing Jongdae went ahead, a little excited if he was honest. He opened the rusty door with a loud creaking. A first look showed small boards with numbers on, a lot of shrill yellow tape with “Police” printed on stretched across the entire hall and a white outline on the ground.

The brown haired leaned over to his friend. “I thought they only do this in movies.”

Kyungsoo rolled with his eyes and went past the other. He neared the outline and squatted down, examining the traces of dried blood again. Nothing unusual in color or consistency. He went on ahead and looked behind barrels and steel pipes until he found a pair of chains lying on the ground, wrapped.

Right as he wanted to pick it up he heard the brown haired cry out. As quickly as he could he rushed behind the wood boxes and looked at his friend on the floor, holding his bleeding hand. The black haired got down, holding the other.

“What happened?” he almost yelled in worry.

Jongdae looked around perplexed. “Something cut me!”

Kyungsoo drove through the other’s locks gently and soothed him. He asked him to lift his hand from the other, which he did. The black haired saw the deep cut on the palm of his friend and started looking around. He took a shard not far from their position and held it into an angle to the sunlight that merely got through the broken, small windows above. As he figured, something hanging from the steel bars above reflected the light.

“Threads?” Jongdae wondered.

The black haired nodded. “I expected this. They were used as a weapon. That’s also what cut your palm. Be wary of those.”

His friend nodded and got up. Kyungsoo ripped off a part of his short sleeve to wrap it around the wound. He knotted it tightly and gave it a light pat to imply it’s good to go now.

Just after that they both noticed a quiet weeping not far from where they were. The black haired locked hands with the other so he wouldn’t hurt himself again. He slightly pulled him behind and neared a relatively stable-looking door. The two friends spotted a staircase leading down.

Uneasy Jongdae tucked on the other’s shirt and stuttered a bit. “I-I might have h-had this idea, b-but can we return?”

Kyungsoo lowered his brows. “No”, he plainly answered. “I’m only here because of you, so get moving.”

Courageously the black haired went down with his friend on his hand, yet he felt uncomfortable with each step they descended. To their surprise, it wasn’t dark like they imagine. The room was fully illuminated. The weeping they heard before intensified.

Both hurried onwards, Kyungsoo because of his duty and Jongdae against his will. They arrived at a long corridor, the walls and floor made of cement. The air was moist and heavy. With wary steps the black haired shuffled forward and looked around the corner. He discovered a small passage with a room at the end.

The detective let loose of the brown haired’s hand and trusted he’d stay close behind, which he actually did. Entering the room with as less noise as possible they discovered a huge cage. Inside were countless people lying, unconscious or dead, Kyungsoo wasn’t sure.

A small girl in front of the looked door sobbed and had her face buried in her knees. Lightheartedly the black haired approached her and kneeled down.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked with a lovely voice. He extended his arms to reach for the girl. “It’ll be alright.”

As she heard his voice her ears pointed. Before Kyungsoo could even react, the girl busted open the door with a heavy leap and hovered over the young detective, saliva dripping down on his chin. With widened eyes in fear he looked into her deep black eyes and examined the sharp teeth about to dig into his face.

In shock Jongdae fell behind and looked around him for a weapon, but the room was spotless. Taking a corpse might neither be useful nor doable. Devastated the brown haired yelled at the young girl which responded with a bestial growl while boring her gaze into the other’s.

What should he do? What can he do? Jongdae didn’t know and his friend was close to be eaten.

Kyungsoo was frozen, unable to move. He was scared, his heart pumping rushing, hot blood through his veins. The last thing he could do was screaming, screaming in a dreaded voice. The girl bared her teeth and rammed down her jaw to bury them inside of the black haired’s flesh. But with just the blink of an eye blood splattered on his face and he saw a steel pipe in the corner of his eyes as it came to stop after a heavy swing.

“Are you alright?” a voice yelled behind them.

Like a reflex the young detective rolled on his stomach and lifted himself on all fours, looking up to the person that just had saved him. While Jongdae could only wonder, still being shocked, Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped as he spotted the man.

“M-minseok?”

**Author's Note:**

> I recently started this fic! It will be a little longer fic than what I usually write. I hope you enjoy it!


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